IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


A 


h 


1.0 


I.I 


11.25 


ltt|28     |25 
2.0 


■  4.0 


'Am. 


I^iotDgraphic 

Sciences 

Corporalion 


33  WfST  MAIN  STMET 

WiBSTIR.N.Y.  14SM 

(716)S73.4S03 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  da  micrortproduetlons  historiques 


> 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  tachniquas  at  bibliographiquaa 


T 
U 


Tha  Instituta  hat  attampted  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  this 
copy  which  may  l9a  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  imagea  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


D 


D 


D 


D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I   Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagia 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur^  et/ou  pellicul4e 


I      I    Cover  title  miasing/ 


La  titre  de  couverture  manque 


n~|    Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  gtographiqjes  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  blackS/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


r~1   Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
ReliA  avac  d'autres  documents 


Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liura  sarrie  paut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  la  long  da  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  tha  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanchaa  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissant  dans  la  texte, 
mais,  lor^qua  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pfis  itr  filmtes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentairas  suppiimantaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  la  meilleur  exemplaira 
qu'il  lui  a  iti  possible  de  se  procurer.  Las  details 
de  cet  exemplaira  qui  sont  paut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  pauvent  modifier 
una  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  una 
modification  dans  la  mAthcida  normale  de  filmaga 
sont  indiqute  ci-dessous. 

□   Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

r~T,>ages  damaged/ 
I  ^-^  Pages  endommagtes 

r~~|    Pages  restorsd  and/or  laminated/ 


v.' 


Pages  r«sta»irAes  et/ou  pelliculies 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d^coiories,  tachat4»s  ou  piqudes 


T 

P 
o 

fl 


0 
b 

si 
o^ 
fii 
si 

Ol 


□    Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ditachies 

r~~!/Showthrough/ 
L^  Transparence 

rn   Quality  of  print  varies/ 


Quality  inigale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  material  supplimentaire 


D 


Tl 
si 

Tl 
w 

N 
di 
ei 
bi 

rll 
re 
m 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seuie  Edition  disponible 


I     1/^ages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
Lkl   slips,  tissues,  etc..  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalament  ou  partieilement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuiliet  d'errata,  una  palure, 
etc.,  ont  6ti  filmAes  A  nouveau  de  fapon  & 
obtrnir  la  mailleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


28X 


30X 


J 

12X 


Wl 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  here  hes  been  reproduced  thenks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

NetionsI  Librery  of  Cenede 


L'exempiaire  film*  f ut  reproduit  grAce  k  la 
gtnAroeitA  de: 

Bibliothique  nationale  du  Canada 


The  images  appearing  he^e  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the*  condition  and  lepibiiity 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  Iceeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  Ail 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -—^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Les  Images  suivantes  ont  At6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetA  de  rexemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimie  sont  filmte  en  commeP9ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernlire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iliustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmfo  en  commenpant  par  la 
premlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iliustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte.  ,, 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la    ' 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  seion  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Meps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmAs  k  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  11  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  I'angie  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
iilustrent  la  mAthode. 


12  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

I 


BraftforU  Club  S>erfes 


NUMBER    THREE. 


■     '    ■■'•>'. 


•  Vi-'H 


\::::H^ 


II 


\. 


<*  V'*''*/  ft  (>wtfH9 


iLifi 'COiiiiTis  :di  gm^ce, 


« 


^^fi 


THR 


Jl 


OPEHATIONS 


0» 


w 


rilK    FRENCH   FLEET 


UNDER    TilK 


Count  2De  Jgra00e 


IN  1781-2 


A8   DESCRIBED   IN   TWO   CONTEMPORANEOUS 
JOURNALS 


NEW     VOIIK 
MDCCCLXIV 


Knlercil  ucoording  to  iin  Act  of  rongrcsn,  in  tlioycnr  I8<14, 
Dy  Julin  U.  Moreau, 

roll    TIIK     nilADPURI)    CMIll, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Dimrict  Court  of  the  United  StuteH 
for  the  Southern  Uinlrict  of  Now  York. 


ONF.    HITNDRFD    AND    FIFTY    rOPIIS    PRINTEIl. 


—f      ■■    "-- «.- . 


CMJB   COPV, 


THE  BRADPOKD  CLUB. 


/y 


Under  this  designation,  a  few  gentlemen  interested  in  the  study  of 
American  History  and  Literature,  propose  occasionally  to  print  limited 
editions  of  such  manusc-'pts  and  scarce  pamphlets  as  may  be  deemed 
of  value  towards  illustru."  g  these  subjects.  They  will  seek  to  obtain, 
for  this  purpose,  unpublished  journals  or  correspondence  containing 
matter  worthy  of  record,  and  which  may  not  properly  bo  included  in 
the  Historical  Collections  or  Documentary  Histories  of  the  several  staleii. 
Such  unpretending  cotemporary  chronicles  often  throw  precious  light 
upon  the  motives  of  action,  and  the  imperfectly  narrated  eventH  of 
by-gone  days ;  perhaps  briefly  touched  upon  in  dry  official  doounionta, 

The  Club  may  also  issue  fac-similes  of  curious  manuscripts,  or  doru> 

ments  worthy  of  notice,  which  like  the  printed  issues  will  bear  ilM 

imprint. 

"These  are  the 

Registers,  the  chronicles  of  the  ago 

They  were  written  in,  and  8peak  the  truth  of  History 

Better  than  a  hundred  of  your  printed 

Communications." — Shakerly  Marmyott's  Antigiiar;/. 

William  Bradford,  the  first  New  York  Printer,  whose  name  they  have 
adopted,  came  to  this  country  in  1682,  and  established  his  press  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Philadelphia.  In  1C93  he  removed  to  this  city,  and 
set  up  the  first  press  "at  the  sign  of  the  Bible."  His  first  work, 
printed   in   this   colony,  was  entitled  "  The  Laws  and  Acta  of  llio 


vxu 


THE     BRADFORD     CLUB. 


Qonoral  Assembly."  During  a  period  of  thirty  years,  he  was  the  only 
Printer  in  the  Province,  and  in  his  imprints,  ho  styled  himself  "  Printer 
to  tbe  King."  In  1725  he  printed  our  first  newspaper,  The  New 
York  Gazette,  He  continued  the  business  of  his  profession  until 
within  a  few  years  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1762,  at  the  ago  of 
92  years.  He  was  described  in  an  obituary  notice  of  the  day  as  "a 
man  of  great  sobriety  and  industry,  a  real  friend  to  the  poor  and 
needy,  and  kind  and  affable  to  all." 
April,  1859. 


PREFACE. 


Thb  Bradford  Club  having  received  trom  one  of  tbe  members,  Mr. 
J.  C.  Brevoort  of  Brooklyn,  a  very  neatly  written  manuscript,  com- 
prising ii  journal  of  an  officer  in  the  fleet  of  the  Count  de  Orasse  in 
1781-82,  believed  that  it  would  form  a  most  appropriate  volume,  as 
portraying  the  naval  operations  of  France  during  the  Revolution,  and 
especially  of  that  fleet  which  rendered  such  timely  service  to  our 
cause  by  its  aid  in  the  siege  of  Vorktown  and  in  the  repulse  of  Graves 
oflF  the  Chesapeake. 

The  manuscript  bears  the  name  of  the  Chevalier  de  Qoussencourt, 
and  tlie  first  question  of  course  was,  in  what  capacity  he  served.  Al- 
though through  the  kindness  of  my  excellent  and  now  deceased  friend, 
Mr.  Henry  de  Courcy,  whose  family  has  been  for  nearly  two  centu- 
ries well  represented  in  the  French  navy,  I  had  more  than  usual  op- 
portunity for  pursuing  the  investigation,  our  researches  have  been 
futile.  The  only  indication  as  to  his  vessel  is  in  the  fact  that  he  re- 
turned to  France  in  the  squadron  composed  of  the  Languedoc,  80, 
Baron  Daross  ;  the  Diadcme,  74,  de  Montdclerc;  and  the  Magnauime, 
74,  le  Begue.  He  bestows  great  praise  on  Montdclerc  for  his  services 
lifter  the  figlit,  and  defends  the  conduct  of  Daross  during  it.  Mr. 
de  Courcy  accordingly  applied  to  the  navy  department  in  Paris  with 
this  guide  :  he  found  the  rolls  of  de  Grasse's  fleet  complete,  but  re- 
ceived from  the  archivist  who  made  a  regular  scarcii,  the  following 
report : 

•'  No  officer  nf  the  name  of  Goussenconrt  was  on  the  expedition  of 


M 


PREFACE. 


Admiral  dn  Oragse  in  1782.  An  examination  just  made  of  tlie  ro'lH 
of  the  Languedoc,  Dindpme  and  Magnaninie  has  afforded  no  result, 
except  lliat  of  eHtablisliing  perfectly  tliiit  nu  name  exists  there  which 
bears  the  remotest  resemblance  to  thai  of  aoiisscncoiii't.  The  same 
is  true  of  the  navy  lists  from  1781  to  1787." 

Mr.  de  Courcy's  inquiries  among  the  aged  naval  officers  of  France 
were  as  fruitless. 

It  would  appear  that  the  name  nas  a  pseudonyme,  and  such  was 
the  opinion  of  the  navy  bureau,  but  ns  he  might  have  belonged  to 
the  army,  Mr.  de  Courcy  endeiivored  to  find  whether  any  member 
of  the  de  Ooussencourt  family,  though  bearing  another  name,  served 
on  the  fleet ;  but  though  he  discovered  a  living  general  of  the  name, 
was  unable  to  obtain  any  satisfactory  information. 

De  GouHsencourt  is  hostile  to  the  Count  de  Gnisse,  and  very  freely 
canvasses  bis  operations.  Fortunately  there  exists  another  journal 
printed  nominally  at  Amsterdam  in  1782,  written  in  the  interest  of 
that  commander,  and,  perhaps  from  his  hand.  It  is  anonymous,  and 
the  vessel  on  which  the  writer  served  is  also  left  an  impenetrable  se- 
cret. This  is  also  here  presented,  that  the  two  versions  may  be  con- 
fronted, and  the  render  be  belter  enabled  to  judge  of  the  whole  cam- 
paign. 

A  third  French  account,  not  of  the  whole  expedition,  but  of  the 
fatal  battle  with  Rodney,  is  contained  in  the  anonymous  "Voyage 
d'un  Suisse  dans  diff^rentes  colonies  d'Amerique  pendant  la  derniere 
Guerre."  Neuchntel,  1780.  The  writer  whs  on  one  of  the  French 
vessels  that  escaped  from  the  battle,  but  like  the  other  writings,  care- 
fully avoids  mentioning  its  name  or  giving  us  any  clue  to  it. 

This  account,  with  Rodney's  despatches,  give  all  the  accessible  re- 
ports. 

I  have  given  such  notices  of  the  French  officers  mentioned  at  I 
could  glean  here  or  get  from  my  good  friends  in  France.  As  to  Ad- 
miral de  Grasse  himself,  the  family,  as  it  will  be  seen,  have  given  me 
their  aid  in  compiling  the  sketch  of  his  life. 

J.  G.  Shea. 


INTRODUCTION, 


The  present  war,  in  wliich  some  of  our  sister  states 
forming  a  new  confederacy  are  attempting  alike  the 
establishment  of  a  national  existence  and  conquest 
of  other  portions  of  our  territory,  shows  the  immense 
advantage  enjoyed  in  such  a  war  by  the  party  possess- 
ing a  power  on  the  ocean.  The  American  govern- 
ment has  never,  so  to  say,  had  a  navy.  A  gallant 
nucleus  of  a  maritime  armj^  has  indeed  won  renown, 
but  our  vessels  are  too  few  in  number,  and  inade- 
quate in  force  and  armament  to  be  at  all  commensu- 
rate with  our  dignity  as  one  of  the  great  powers  of  the 
world,  or  even  with  the  protection  of  our  mercantile 
marine  and  the  seacoast  of  our  land,  which  in  its 
length  would  form  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the 
earth's  circumference.  No  American  fleet  ever  sailed 
forth  able  to  cope  successfully  with  fleets  such  as  Eng- 
land, France,  Holland,  and  Spain,  have  had  on  the 
ocean  in  successive  wars. 

The  revolted  states  have  no  navy,  and  no  means  of 
fitting  one  out.     From  a  variety  of  causes  they  can 


i^m  «a3f:mt-r::t53.».Jtrrti«ja;;; 


r.5a^fr;t*.r.rn?iP!!C?.-:rt^ss!ffls-j:;=:!::^       •  * 


mmmm^wftmttvmmimm 


12 


INTRODUCTION. 


neither  build  nor  man  veHHeln,  and  the  so-ealled  jn'iva- 
teers  of  the  Sontliern  conte(U'racy,  few  in  number,  are 
really  F^nglisli  vosselrt,  built  and  ecjuipped  in  England, 
under  the  eountenanee,  if  not  by  the  direct  aid,  of  the 
Knglirth  government,  and  often  commanded  by  British 
subjectH. 

Imulequate  therefore  as  the  American  navy  is,  it 
has  nevertheless  contributed  immensely  to  the  strength 
of  government  in  its  operations  at  llatteras,  J'ort 
Royal,  Pensacola,  CMiarleston,  Xew  Orleans,  as  well 
as  on  the  Mississippi  and  other  rivers,  besides  the 
great  advantage  it  attbrds  of  rapid  and  unmolested 
transportation  of  troops  from  one  extremity  to  the 
other. 

We  are  thus  enabled,  by  our  actual  reference  to  day, 
to  estimate  more  justly  the  importance  of  the  French 
naval  operations  on  the  Atlantic  in  the  last  century, 
(»n  the  ultinuite  result  of  our  Revolutionary  struggle, 
In- actual  aid  in  military  operations,  by  defeating  those 
of  the  enemy,  or  rendering  them  safe  only  when  con- 
voyed by  powert'ul  tieets.  It  was  to  us,  what  in  the 
present  war,  an  oi»en  alliance  between  Kngland  and 
the  revolted  states  would  l»e  to  them.  The  damage 
caused  by  the  British  privateers  has  been  great,  but  a 
declaration  of  war  by  England  or  France  against  us 
would  entail  on  our  part  the  annament  of  Heets  such 
as  our  country  has  never  witnessed,  and  which,  not- 
withstanding the  immense  expenses  government 
should  prepare  at  once,  and  not  leave  to  the  eventu- 


INTRODUCTION. 


13 


ulity  of  diplomatic  coinplicationrt,  or  the  good  t'uith  of 
nations,  whom  the  history  of  the  puHt  should  teach  uh 
not  to  trust  too  implicitly. 

In  turning  our  gaze  to  the  period  of  our  early 
struggle  for  natioidiood,  we  find  the  period,  one  es- 
pecially calling  out  naval  operations. 

The  French,  whose  loss  of  then'  vast  American  pos- 
sessions still  rankled  in  their  bosoms,  beheld  with  un- 
disguised exultation  the  outburst  in  the  ancient  colo- 
nies of  England,  which  their  statesmen  had  foreseen, 
and  which  in  its  certain  future,  as  the  sure  result  of 
the  conquest  of  Canada,  consoled  them  for  its  loss. 
Her  ports  gladly  sheltered  those  daring  American 
privateers,  whose  exploits  carried  terror  through 
English  commerce.  Ere  long  too,  arms,  money  and 
experienced  officers  reached  America  from  France ; 
among  the  last,  that  J>e  Xalb,  who  secretly  traversing 
the  country  years  before,  had  clearly  discerned  the 
coming  revolution  with  which  his  name  was  to  be  in- 
dissolubly  connected. 

The  government  of  France  stood  ostensibly  neutral 
l)etween  England  and  her  colonies,  but  in  reality  was 
preparing  for  a  war  which  gratified  every  instinct  of  a 
French  heart.  The  navy,  neglected  during  the  close 
of  the  disgraceful  reign  of  Louis  XV,  had,  under  the 
young  monarch,  been  increased  in  nund)er,  strength 
and  morale,  and  the  officers  burned  with  a  desire  to 
engage  their  hated  rivals  on  the  ocean,  and  at  last  gain 
that  mastery  on  water  which  England  had  so  long 
possessed. 


■»■*»■ 


u 


INTKOUllCTION. 


Kmtico  IiikI  lu'Vi'i*  Ih'cii  iMitial  to  Knghiiid  at  nea,  and 
OH  tlio  (U'cliiu'  of  HpaiiiHii  and  Dutch  naval  strength, 
Britain  Htood  ahnic  ;  nniny  coiiHiderationH  conibining 
to  ('onipi'l  her  to  Hacrifici"  all  to  nuiiiitain  tlu"  povvnr 
hIii'  had  a('(|uir(>d.  To  otti'ct  thin,  all  the  con(inorttrt  of 
rti'ii'iict'  were  immediately  utilised  :  no  improvement 
in  naval  arehitucture,  in  ordnance  or  navigation,  wan 
overlooked,  tlie  jtaraHiten  of  the  court  hanitthed 
from  the  uavy,  and  the  commands  tilled  hy  capable 
and  thoroughly  educated  neamen,  before  whom  the 
fate  of  Hyng  Ht(»od  aN  the  Htern  sentence  of  public 
opinion  on  defeat. 

Yet  never,  perha[)s,  till  our  day,  was  France  so 
nearly  a  match  f»tr  Kngland  as  at  the  jieriod  of  which 
we  speak.  Mrest  and  Toulon  ha<l  been  active  in  tit- 
ting  out  her  ships  of  the  line  and  frigates,  but  though 
her  otHci'rs  were  in  nnuiy  cases  men  of  scientitic  train- 
ing, scii'net'  and  progress  had  been  overlooked,  and 
tin*  aristocrati«t  element  |»ossessed  undisputed  the 
whole  Hervi(!e.  Xo  one  could  become  a  midshipnutn 
or  ensign  without  presenting  his  fourteen  quaiterings, 
showing  his  indisputable  right  to  be  reckoned  among 
the  noblesse.  Two  facts  will  show  their  lack  of  pro- 
gress. The  coppering  of  vessels  had  been  adopted  by 
the  Knglish,  an<l  though  one  of  the  most  capable  offi- 
cers in  KraiKie  urged  upon  the  government  the  ad- 
vantage which  would  result  from  the  use  of  slieath- 
ing,  his  advice  wa.-*  iniheedcd  ;  and  France  began  this 
war  with  this  great  disadvantage  of  fighting  the  swift 
copper-fuHtened  men-of-war  of  her  rival  with  her  own 


INTHODUCTION. 


16 


old  fawhioiied  wooden  bottoms.  The  ouHtoin  of  pre- 
{)ariiitf  for  action  on  only  one  side  of  the  nlii[)  liad 
been  abandoned  hy  the  Kmjli.sh,  bnt  retained  by  the 
French,  and  it  more  than  once  occnrred  that  an  Kng- 
lish  vessel  by  a  slis^ht  nuin(Puvre  was  able  to  pour 
into  tlie  nnprepared  side  of  a  French  vessel  a  broad- 
side which  could  not  be  returned. 

Yet  France,  regardless  as  she  then  was  of  such  ad- 
vantages, was  eager  for  the  struggle,  and  the  navy 
especially  hailed  thi'  gathering  cloud  of  war  with 
exultation. 

When  the  French  government,  at  last,  resolved  to 
take  an  active  part  in  the  war,  a  fleet  under  C'harles 
Henry  tJount  d'F]staing,  was  sent  out  from  Toulon  on 
the  13th  of  April,  177H,  with  orders  to  attack  any  Heet 
bound  to  or  from  America;  and  at  the  same  time  they 
prepared  to  send  out  another  fleet  from  Brest,  under 
Count  d'Orvilliers.  The  flrst  hostility  took  place  ofl:' 
the  coasts  of  Brittany,  the  Ai-ethusa,  26,  of  Keppel's 
fleet,  having  on  the  17th  of  June  begun  the  war  by 
attacking  the  Bello  Poule,  a  French  vessel  of  equal 
force,  commanded  by  the  brave  La  Clocheterie,  who 
signalized  himself  in  the  flrst,  to  die  flghting  most 
gallantly  in  the  last  battle  of  the  war.  This  led  to  a 
flercely  contested,  but  indecisive  action  off  Ushant, 
on  the  21st  July  1778,  between  the  English  fleet  under 
Keppel,  and  the  French  fleet  under  the  Count  d'Or- 
villiers. 

Mean  while   the   Count  d'Estaing  ran  across  the 


Ill 


INTHODlJCTtON. 


Atlniitio  iiiitl  lK'«fi>'i  Iiowtilitiof*  on  tlii'  J^Otli  .liiiu".  I».v 
fiiptiirin^  an  Kii);liNli  vi'hhi'I  ott'  licriniitln.  On  tlio 
i'jtli  of  tlio  ni'xt  month,  tiu'  tVijfiitt'  Knpijfi-ant*'  of  Ii'ih 
Hoot  took  tlir  Kn^liwli  friiruti'  I{om*',  tin-  first  real  cai)- 
tiirt'  in  tlu'  war.  An  unfortunate  delay  iirevonted  hin 
hloolvadinik;  Howe  in  the  Dehiware,  and  lie  n|i|>eared 
oft'  Sandv  JIoolv  Jidv  11,  to  he  ahandoned  hv  itiiotH, 
and  oiitgeneraled  by  Howe,  wlio  nuide  nueii  an  ap- 
pearanei'  of  foreo  in  Now  York  l>ay  witli  a  h)t  of  niift- 
erahlo  hulks,  that  ho  prevented  d'Krttainj;,  milled  too 
by  tory  pilots,  from  entering,  wlien  he  miglit  in  faet 
have  sailed  up  to  the  city  and  eloHod  the  war.  D'Ks- 
taing  then  eoneerted  a  plan  with  Lafayette  ami  Sulli- 
van to  take  Rhode  Island.  lie  mn  into  Newport  and 
compelled  the  Knglish  to  destroy  their  vessels  there. 
.Fust  as  operations  were  about  to  begin,  IIowc  apj)ear- 
ed,  d'Estaing  went  out  to  meet  him,  Ilowe  avoicK'd 
an  action,  a  storm  came  on,  d'Kstaing's  fleet  sutt'ered, 
and  abandoning  the  siege  of  Newport  to  the  great  dis- 
satisfai'tion  (tf  tSullivan,  he  sailed  to  Hoston  to  repair. 

Leaving  U(»ston  he  allowed  llotham's  scpuidron 
from  New  York  to  go  almost  before  liis  eyes  to  liar- 
badoes.  Proceeding  to  (lUadaloupe,  in  Deeendter 
ho  engaged  liarrington,  but  failed  to  eapturo  his  small 
s(piadron,  and  saw  his  arn^  repulsed  with  loss  in  his 
attack  on  St.  Lucia,  Dee.  IH. 

The  next  year,  having  been  reinforced  by  four  ves- 
sels nncK'r  do  (Jrasse,  he  reduced  the  islands  of  Saijit 
Martin,  St.  liartholomew,  and  St.  Vincent.     On  the 


INTRODUCTION. 


17 


Innt  (lay  of  June,  lio  Hailed  from  Fort  Uoyal  witli 
twonty-tivo  vohhoIh  of  tlio  lino,  and  two  fri^atoH,  and 
early  iti  July,  after  a  Hhari>  action,  reduced  (Iranada. 
On  the  (Ith,  a  very  Hharp  enpi^ement  took  place  be- 
tween d'EHtaing  and  Byron,  in  which  the  latter  Huf- 
ferod  Hovercly, 

The  next  operation  of  Count  d'Estaing  wan  another 
attack  on  an  English  post  in  the  United  StateH.  Sa- 
vannah was  assailed  on  the  9th  of  Octol)er,  hv  Ameri- 
can  and  French  troops,  the  former  under  Lincoln,  the 
latter  led  by  d'Estaing  injterson;  hut  in  spite  of  the 
valor  of  the  allies,  they  were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss. 
This  ended  the  naval  and  military  campaign  of  d'Es- 
taing, from  which  tlie  Amei'ieans  had  expected  much 
and  obtained  nothing. 

The  Count  de  Guichen,  who  succeeded  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  French  fleet  in  the  "West  Indies,  brought 
Kodney  to  action,  April  17,  1780,  but  the  battle  pro- 
duced no  result,  and  a  similarly  indecisive  action  took 
place  May  19. 

In  1781,  the  Chevalier  Destouches  sent  a  part  of  his 
Hcet  from  Boston  to  the  Chesapeake,  under  M.  do  Tilly, 
who  captured  the  liomulus,  44  guns,  and  several  tran- 
sports, but  most  of  the  enemy's  vessels  ran  up  to 
Portsmouth.  Destouchcs  himself  then  sailed  to  the 
Chesa|)eake,  and  had  a  spirited  action  with  Graves,  in 
which  he  put  three  of  the  English  vessels  hors  de 
condtat.  De  Ternay,  who  brought  another  Fromh 
squadron  across  the  Atlantic,  allowed  an  English  squad- 


lb 


INTUUDUCTION. 


roll  ti>  escape  from  him,  iitul  died  of  mortification  hoou 
lifter  his  arrival. 

8ueh  luid  Ijeeii  tlio  main  operations  of  the  French 
navy  in  American  waters  up  to  the  time  of  the  cam- 
pai<rn  of  tlie  Count  do  (Irasse,  described  in  tliOBO 
I)a,i;es.  That  such  tU-ets  were  sent  l»y  both  jjovern- 
ments  to  operate  in  the  (hmgerous  waters  of  the  West 
Indian  Arcliii>elajifo,  and  waste  their  streiifftlion  the  re- 
duction of  petty  islands,  wlien  a  continent  was  at  stako, 
is  not  easily  ex])laincd.  The  time  was  spent  in  taking 
and  retaking  small  and  unimportunt  isles,  the  pos- 
session of  wliich  was  of  no  strategic  importance.  In 
the  war  on  the  Continent,  the  operations  at  Newport 
and  {Savannah,  both  entire  failures,  and  the  operations 
of  Destouches  in  the  (Miesapeake,  alone  sliow  the  in- 
tervention of  our  transatlantic  allies,  and  thus  far,  it 
18  clear,  that  the  assistance  rendered  by  the  French 
nnvy  had  been  of  little  moment,  except  in  the  fact 
that  it  gave  occupatiim  to  ul!  England's  fleets. 

Of  the  career  of  tlie  Count  de  (irasse,  whose  last 
fatal  battle  in  a  manner  closed  the  war,  we  need  not 
enter  here.     The  journals  give  the  details  in  full. 


"  -•»i>*-4i*t^i:to>kl1  .ttA,t^ 


FRANCIS  JOSKPII  PAUL  DK  (IKASSK-Itor- 
VILLK,  COUNT  DE  GRASSE,  MAHQUTS  1)E 
TILLY,  LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  DES  AR- 
MhlKS    NAVALKS. 


Thoikui  not  rt'garclod  in  Franfis  an  one  of  tli<'  glo- 
ries of  the  Froncli  navy,  in  consiMiuenco  of  tiio  disas- 
ter wliicli  clortc'd  liirt  naval  career,  the  name  of  I>^ 
GraHse  is  a«Hociate(l  in  tlie  Aineriean  mind  with  th< 
ultimate  triumph  of  mitional  independence,  and  pop- 
ulnr  {gratitude  rewards  his  exertions  and  sacrifices  hy 
its  lastinj;  reverence.  The  family  from  which  he 
sprung  was  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  French  nohlesse, 
claiming  descent  from  Rodoard,  Prince  of  Antihes  in 
998,  and  boasting  of  its  alliance  hy  intermarriage  with 
the  royal  houses  of  France,  Spain,  and  Sicily.  The 
Captal  de  Buch,  so  famous  in  Froissart,  was  one  of 
tb',  ancestors  of  the  Count  de  Grasse.  Ilis  family 
bore  the  name  of  de  Grasse  from  the  eleventh  centu- 
ry, and  that  of  Rouville  from  1070. 

His  father,    Francois  de  Grasse-Rouville,  Marquis 
de  Grasse,  was  a   captain  in  the  army,  but   two  of  his 


20 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ji/-' 


/: 


V 


sons,  Joseph  de  Grasse,  a  knight  of  Malta,  who  served 
at  Louisbonrg,  and  woh  a  captain  in  1757,  and  Fran- 
cois Joseph  Paul,  souglit  the  guerdon  of  their  am- 
bition in  the  naval  career. 

Francois  Joseph  Paul  was  born  in  1723  ;  but  of  his 
ear'ier  career,  even  the  biography  published  by  his 
son  aftbrds  us  no  particulars.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  war  with  England,  brought  on  by  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution,  he  was  captain  of  the  Robuste,  74, 
and  had  been  in  active  sei'vice,  apparently  in  her  since 
177i).  With  that  vessel  lie  took  an  active  part  in  the 
naval  engagement  fought  oft'  Ouessant  in  July,  1778. 
In  the  following  year,  still  in  the  same  vessel,  he  sailed 
as  chef-d'csmdre,  or  commodore,  from  Brest,  with 
four  ships  of  the  line,  and  anchored  in  the  road  of 
Fort  Royal,  February  20,  1779.  He  shared  in  the 
triumphs  and  reverses  of  d'Estaing's  campaign,  in  the 
reduction  of  Granada,  in  the  siege  of  Savannah,  and 
after  which  he  sailed  to  the  West  Indies  with  a  por- 
tion of  the  tieet.  Here  he  distinguished  himself  in 
1780,  under  de  Guichen,  in  his  engagements  with 
Rodney,  rescuing  the  8phynx  and  Artesien  from  a 
superior  English  force.  Declining  the  command  of 
the  squadron  on  the  ground  of  health,  he  returned  to 
France,  where  he  was  raised  by  the  king  to  the  rank 
of  lieutenant-genei-al  or  admiral,  and  invested  with 
the  conunand  of  the  fleet  in  the  West  Indies,  which 
d'Estaing  and  de  Gui'.-hen  had  hitherto  directed  with 
judgment,  though  not  with  brilliant  success.     Theele- 


'\ 


f    f 


INTRODUCTION. 


ai 


// 


//' 


vation  of  de  Grasse  gave  umbrage  to  many  officers 
in  the  navy,  and  involved  him  in  difficulties  which 
ultimately  dimmed  by  a  fearful  reverse,  the  laurelu 
won  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  naval  campaign.  Th« 
estimate  formed  of  him  by  most  writers  then  and  now 
is  not  colored  by  the  respect  which  success  inspires. 
That  of  Guerin  in  his  Histoire  Maritime  de  la  France,  iti 
pointed.  "  Obedience  galled  him,  and  as  a  natural 
result  he  brought  to  command  a  biting  hauteur 
marque,  and  a  disposition  that  never  stooped  to  con- 
ciliate. If  he  was  not  deficient  in  activity,  his  mind 
was  ceitainly  destitute  of  comprehensive  grasp,  and  uh 
he  showed  but  too  clearly  he  was  capable  of  sacrific- 
ing a  whole  plan  of  operations  to  a  single  detail. 
Brave  and  good  as  captain  of  a  ship,  the  Count  de 
Grasse  was  an  embarrassing  commodore,  and  a  still 
more  illstarred  admiral." 

The  following  pages  give  two  cotemporary  narra- 
tives of  his  campaign,  one  by  a  friendly  hand,  if  not 
his  own,  the  other  representing  the  party  adverse  to 
him  on  the  French  navy. 

Both  describe  in  detail  his  actions  in  the  West  In- 
dies, his  generous  exertions  and  prompt  correspond, 
ence  with  Washington's  designs  against  Cornwallis, 
his  brilliant  action  with  Graves  off  the  mouth  of  the 
Chesapeake,  and  then  his  indecisive  affair  with  Hood, 
and  most  disastrous  engagement  with  Rodney,  result- 
ing in  the  loss  of  so  many  French  vessels  and  the  sur- 


22 


INTRODUCTION. 


render  of  his  flagship  and  himself  into  the  hands  of 
the  English.' 

After  his  return  to  Knmce  from  F]ngland,  the  king 
refused  him  audience,  the  honors  bestowed  on  Rocham- 
beau  were  withheld  from  him,  and  his  conduct  was 
investigated  in  a  council  of  war  held  at  Lorient. 
Though  he  was  exonerated  and  several  of  his  inferior 
officers  censured,  lie  was  never  again  in  active  service, 
but  lived  in  retirement  till  his  death,  January  14, 1788.* 

He  was  three  times  married  :  1st,  in  1764,  to  An- 
toinette Rosalie  Accaron,  daughter  of  Jean  Augustin 
Accaron,  commissary  in  the  navy  ;  M,  to  t-atharine 
Pien,  widow  of  M.  de  Villeneuve  ;    3d,  to  Christine 

'  In  one  of  his  leiters  he  thus  sums  up  llie  whole  affair  :  "  I  have 
been  henlcii  at'ier  an  engagement  of  seven  hours,  with  six  ships  against 
fourlcen  :  I  have  surrendered  under  such  circumstances,  as  that  my 
friends  need  not  blush  for  me,  when  they  see  mu  again.  The  English 
fleet  lins  been  more  8ucce8.''ful  than  the  k'ng's,  and  is  al«o  under  a 
Utile  better  discipline." 

'  Washington,  in  a  letter  to  the  Count  de  Rochanibenu.  who  an- 
nounced the  death  of  their  fellow  commander  at  Yorktown,  says  :  "  I 
am  sorry  to  learn  that  the  Count  de  (Jras'-e.  our  gallant  coadjutor  in 
the  capture  of  Cornwallis.  is  no  more.  Vet  iiis  denth  is  not  perhaps 
so  much  10  be  deplored  as  his  latter  days  were  to  be  pitied.  It  seemed 
as  if  an  unfortuuaie  and  unrelenting  ilestiny  purriiid  him  to  de- 
stroy the  enjoyment  of  all  earthly  coniforl.  The  ilisiislrous  battle  of 
the  12th  of  April,  the  loss  of  the  favor  of  bis  king,  ami  the  subgequent 
connexion  in  marriage  with  an  unworthy  woman,  were  sufficient  to 
have  made  him  weary  of  the  burden  of  life.  Your  goodness  in  en- 
deavoring to  sweeten  its  passage  was  truly  commendable,  however  it 
might  have  bocn  marred  by  his  own  inipe'uosily.  Uut  his  frailties 
should  now  be  buried  in  the  grave  with  him.  while  his  name  will  be 
long  deservedly  dear  to  this  country,  on  account  of  his  successful  co- 
operation in  the  former  campaign  of  1781." 


MSaiivii 


INTRODUCTION. 


23 


Marie  Dolphine  Lazaro  de  Cibon.  a  union  fruitful  to 
him  in  unliappinesa. 

By  liisiirst  wife  he  had  issue:  1.  Alexander  Fran9oi8 
AuguHte  de  Urasse  Rouville,  Count  de  Grasse,  Mar- 
quis de  Tilly,  who  died  al)out  1849.  2.  Amelie 
Rosalie  Maxime,  who  died  unmarried.  3.  Adelaide, 
who  died  at  Charleston,  8.  C,  August  23,  1799.  4. 
Maxime  de  Grasse,  knight  of  Malta,  who  died  in 
1773.  5.  Melanie  Veronique  Maxime,  who  died  at 
Charleston,  Sept.  19,  179i>.  6.  Sylvie  de  Grasse,  who 
married  M.  Franeis  de  Pan,  and  died  in  Xew  York, 
January  5,  1855,  aged  83. 

Death  removed  the  Count  de  Grasse  from  the  scene 
of  life  before  the  storm  of  revolution  swept  over  his 
native  land,  but  his  surviving  children  were  driven  by 
it  into  exile  and  reached  the  United  States.  Grateful 
for  the  services  of  the  father,  the  government  of  the 
republic  made  the  young  count  engineer  of  Georgia 
and  the  Carolinas,  and  1)estowed  a  pension  of  a  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year  on  the  daughters,  a  fitting  retui'n 
to  the  family  of  one  who  mortgaged  his  private  estates 
to  enable  him  to  carry  to  Washington  the  money 
needed  for  the  army.  Two  of  the  daughters  soon 
sank  victims  to  the  yellow  fever,  but  the  youngest, 
Madame  de  Pau,  was  long  a  resident  of  New  York. 
She  left  two  sons  and  five  daughters.  Louis  A.  de 
Pau,  one  of  the  former,  represents  the  Count  de 
Grasse  in  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  The  daugh- 
ters married  leading  merchants  of  Xew  York,  and  the 


f\ 


\ 


M 


INTRODUCTION. 


families  of  Fox,  Livingston,  Fowler  and  Coster,  can 
boast  of  their  descent  from  the  distinguished  French 
commander,  whose  prompt  and  generous  conduct  ena- 
bled Washington  to  carry  out  his  sanguine  wishes, 
and  brought  to  a  glorious  close  the  long  and  desolat- 
ing war  of  the  Revolution.  ■ 

Notice  biographique  sur  I'Amiral  Comte  de  Grasse 
{Fran^'ois  Joseph  Paul)  d'aprh  Us  documents  inidits  coin- 
muniquis  par  M.  le  Comte  Alexandre  Fr.  Auguste  de 
Grasse,  son  fils.  Paris,  1840,  8vo.  pp.  45.  GinMogie 
de  la  Maison  de  Grasse.  Paris:  Imprimerie  de  E. 
Brieze,  Rue  Sainte  Anne  55, 1842,  8vo.  55  pp.  Papers, 
communicated  by  the  kindness  of  Mrs.  Drayton. 


rfflffrr"i"'T — r  "i  r -•'jrrrii"ii-<mf-irr-wii*m>.n<t."i'*-**»^-i^-^*w-^ 


M 


.^^  "..^  << 


% 


-  -i,vA«^i*^^*««ffia>L^i 


wmirirn-,. 


.   I 


JOURNAL 

or   TiiK 

CRUISE   OF    THE   FLEET   OF  HIS   MOST 
CHRISTIAN   MAJESTY, 


UNDRIt     THE    COMMAND    OF 


THE  COUNT  DE  GRASSE-TILLY, 

IN   1781  AND  1782. 

BY 

THE  CHEVALIER  DE  GOUSSENCOURT. 


LIST  OP  THE  VESSELS  OF  THE  FLEET. 


t  1     ! 


titmm  of  the  Veiwelf. 

Arm«m«nt 

OipUiln'i  NiiiM, 

Villo  (le  Pnrii, 

104 

Count  de  Oraniie 

AllgUHtO, 

80 

de  Hougainville 

Laiigucdoc, 

80 

Haron  d'AroiiH, 

St.  Esprit, 

80 

do  Chabert. 

Clloyon, 

74 

0«ty. 

Olnrioiix, 

74 

Ddcarg. 

Hoiiverain, 

74 

QlandevcRO. 

Dind^mp, 

74 

Moiitt^clero. 

7,m, 

74 

Prdville. 

Scipion, 

74 

Clavel, 

Northuioberland, 

74 

Hri(iucville. 

Sceptre, 

74 

Vaudreuil. 

Hector, 

74 

Dalain. 

Mngnanime, 

74 

Le  Uegue. 

l<(  urgogno, 

74 

Charito. 

Vaillant, 

04 

Marigny, 

Marseillois, 

74 

U'Espinoi  5u. 

C^sar, 

74 

CaNtellane. 

Hercule, 

74 

Tiirpin. 

Pluton, 

74 

D'Albert  Rions. 

Sagittairc, 

FRIGATES: 

Montluc. 

Medde, 

40 

La  Diligente. 

Aigrette, 

.'!2 
FLUTES : 

Minaulore, 

V. 

Union. 

Fier,  V 

F. 

D6daigneuae. 

L'lndiscrete, 

Le  Sensible. 

La  Noiirrice, 

L'Aurore. 

et  lea  Vj.  et  frogfll 

e  de  rinde. 

i  %& 


I   t 


CAMPAIGN  IN  AMERICA. 


Thk  fleet  of  the  Count  DcHtaing  having  arrived 
very  late  from  Cadiz,  prevented  the  propoHed  celerity 
in  fitting  out  a  tieet,  whieli  was  intended  t)riginally  to 
Hail  under  the  eonunand  of  Mr.  de  la  Toueho  Tre- 
ville,'  and  of  which  the  Count  de  GrasHe  ohtained  tlio 

'  Louis  Ken(S  Madeline  Lovassor  de  La  Touohe-Trdvillo,  vivo  iiiliiii- 
rol,  WAR  born  at  Uochefort  in  1740,  of  a  fiimily  already  diHiiiiguiHiiod 
In  tlie  navy.  He  entered  tlie  gervice  aa  a  midshipman,  and  liad  riiion 
III  the  rank  of  enxign,  wlien  by  reforms  in  tbe  navy,  be  wan  dropped, 
He  then  entered  tbe  muslceteeriii  and  obtained  a  captaincy  in  tbe  dra- 
goonM,  but  in  1772,  succeeded  in  recovering  a  comiiiisHion  in  the  navy. 
Wlien  Franco  declared  war  against  Kngland  in  1778,  bo  obtained  com- 
innnd  of  tlio  Uoaaignote,  as  lieutenant.  In  the  Ilermionv,  in  Juno 
17H(),  iio  HUHlained  a  long  combat  with  tbe  l»'<-^,  for  which  ho  obtninod 
a  unptaiiicy,  niid  was  made  Cbevulicr  of  St.  Louis.  He  then  brought 
out  liafiiyoilo,  and  erected  batteries  in  Kbode  Island.  In  July,  1781, 
with  La  IV'rouse,  he  tool<  an  English  frigate  and  corvette  off  Nova 
Hcotia.  In  1782,  be  brought  out  to  the  United  States  three  millions 
livrKH  in  gold,  and  on  the  way  engaged  and  so  disabled  the  Hector  U4, 
that  she  went  down  a  few  days  after.  He  himself  was  soon  after  sur- 
prised by  Elpbinslone,  and  his  vessel  running  on  a  shoal,  he  was 
forced  to  strike,  and  was  carried  to  England  where  ho  remained  till 
the  peace.  Un  liis  return  to  l^rance  be  occupied  several  posts,  but  on 
Die  breaking  out  of  the  revolution,  though  a  deputy  of  the  noblesse. 
Joined  the  commons.  As  rear-admiral,  he  sailed  to  Naples  in  I7U2, 
but  was  tbe  next  year  deprived  of  bis  rank  and  sent  to  La  Force  as  a 
noble.  Itostoreil  to  tbe  navy  in  I7U'.),  he  battled  Nelson  at  Koulogne 
In  181)1,  and  in  the  same  year  reduced  Port-au-Prince  in  St.  Domingo. 
He  (lied  on  board  the  Bucentairc  .Vug.  1*J,  1804,  while  commandant  at 
Toulon. 


11 


28 


OPERATIONS   OF   TIIK    KKKNCH    KI.KET 


coiniiiand  l>y  his  iiitri;;iH'H  iit  roiirt.'  Tlif  vch- 
hoIh  tliat  liati  made  tlu>  caiiipaiLCii  ii>  Aincricii 
umlor  tlio  Coiiiit  do  (Julclu'ii,''  wIu-ih'  tlu'v  had  huh- 
taliu'd  tliivo  »;omhiitrt  with  the  colt(l)rato<l  llodnoy,''  had 

>  rhax  <'t  Lvlinin.  in  lliuir  IliHlniro  du  In  Uevniulinn  do  I'AiiKtrique 
■epteiitrioiiule,  iltMliunlcd  tu  Niipuleun,  iilno  aHHvrt  iLnt  ilu  QrniiHe  ob- 
tnincd  tlio  (.'oiiiniuiid  hy  inlrlgiic  Tlio  nucoihI  jimniiil  in  iIiIn  vnliimn 
given  tlic  oppogitu  iiocduni,  nuU  iIuIdii  Ibul  lie  toult  liie  auiiimand  re- 
liiotuntly. 

'  Luc  llrliiiin  do  Ilouoxio,  Count  do  Oulolirii,  horn  in  nrittnny  in 
1712,  inidftliipman  in  ITMI),  piiNnoil  llirouKli  nil  giiidoM  up  lo  a  cnp 
Ininoy  in  17r)fl.  In  the  Ville  de  I'nriN  ho  wax  hn  commodore  a(  the 
bnlllo  u{  OiioMHunl  in  July  I77M,  niid  llio  next  yvnr  na  liciilcnunl-gon- 
ernl,  connuundod  ono  of  llie  tliroo  gronl  iliviHionn  of  llie  tloot.  Ilo 
twice  HUuceHxfully  cngngod  Kodnoy  in  April  nnd  Miiy  17H(I,  in  the 
West  Indiott.  In  Deccndicr  of  next  ycur,  ho  allowed  Kempenfold  lo 
Bweop  otf  pnrt  of  IiIh  convoy,  conlniiiing  reinfor(UMiicnlH  for  llio  W'oil 
IndioH,  lliim  grcitily  enilinrniHHing  (lie  Count  do  (IrnHHc  Ho  coin- 
niiindod  the  ItroMl  tieut  in  \1H'2,  nnd  dieil  in  I7'<M). 

'  Oeorge  ItridgoH,  Lord  Kodnoy,  K.  H,.  (hou  of  Henry  ilodnoy  of 
Walton  upon  TliunioH,  the  cuniuiunder  uf  the  yacht  in  which  (leurge 
II.  and  Iho  Uuke  of  (JhnndoH  umoiI  to  visit  llnnover,)  had  the  king  and 
that  nohlcninn  for  IiIh  nponnors  in  linpliHin.  nnd  hy  tlicir  advice  wii8 
educatrd  for  the  navy.  He  wan  liorn  in  l)eceinl)cr  I7IH,  nnil  onloring 
the  navy  at  nn  curly  ago,  beciinio  in  I74'.i  lirulennnl  of  the  Nnniur, 
under  ndniirni  MnllhewH,  nnd  whh  proniolod  the  Hnnio  yonr  to  the 
Plynionili,  lio,  im  onptuin,  and  proioctcd  llio  LiNlioii  tieut  of  niorchant- 
nien  in  it  wny  lo  merit  high  applnu.ie.  Aflor  conininniliiig  HucceHHively 
the  ShcernesB,  nnd  the  Ludlow  Camle,  41,  witli  tlielnitor  of  which  he 
took  the  great  St.  Mnloes  privnioor,  lie  next  ciipliired  two  French 
privnlfcru  ofl'  the  Irish  coawt  in  October  17-lti,  being  nl  the  linii'  in 
commnnd  of  the  Knglo,  lid.  The  i  il  yenr  he  served  in  commodore 
Fox's  squndron,  which  cnpiur<'(l  n  pnrt  of  iho  convoy  under  the  escort 
of  M.  Hois  de  In  Motlic,  liodney  inking  six  of  the  pri/cs.  Ilo  next 
served  in  ndmirnl  llnwke's  Hi(undi'on  in  the  engngenient  with  M.  de 
Letendeur.  In  March,  174'.),  he  wns  uppuinted  to  the  Kaiiibow,  nnd 
made  Governor  of  Nowfoundlnnd.  Me  was  subsequently  in  coniinuiid 
of  the  Kent,  74,  and  I'rince  (ieorge,  ',)ii.  In  1757,  he  sailed  in  the 
Dublin,  under  lluwke  and  Uuscuwun,  tirsi  lu  ihu  FruuuU  coast,  thuu 


^r-rTtinlrTlfMWI 


UNDER   THE   COUNT    DK  (JHASSE. 


29 


joined  vice  uiiiati'iil  D'Kstuinu;  iit  Cadiz,  aiitl  n>acli('cl 
BrtMt  only  on  tiu'  Hocond  of  .laimarv.  Our  wliolv 
tlcot  wan  in  tlio  roads  on  tlu-  lirnt  of  March,  and  I 
li'uvo  all  to  ,jndj;v,  in  wiiat  Htutc  it  ninnt  huvu  bu«n. 


til  IiiiiiinhiirK.  In  .liiiio,  1750,  ho  liRcninr  ronr  mlnilrnl  of  thn  blu*, 
and  Hailed  wiili  u  Hciuinlron  In  Imnibiiril  lliivrp,  itiiil  runiiiiMpd  off  that 
oooHt  the  next  year  eliccking  (lie  Prcncli  naval  oirorlN. 

In  Ortiiher,  17111,  Im  wiin  senl  tu  the  Vivnt  Indies,  imd  with  general 
Mnui'klon,  rfiliiccil  Maillni<|iir,  (linniida,  St.  liiiciii,  iiml  >S|.  Vincent, 
and  by  hii«  activity  and  vigiluncu,  upheld  the  Kn^liMh  power,  lie  wa* 
nmdo  a  baronet,  .lannary  21,  17li4,  giivernor  iil'  (iritL-nwk'li  lloHpilal 
In  17i'>'''>,  vice  admiral  <it'  lh«  whiti'  and  rod  in  17711,  and  rear  admiral 
of  Great  llrllain  in  1771. 

lie  was)  several  times  in  |>arliamt>nt,  but  the  last  time  Hecuri'd  his 
eleclion  by  giicli  liberal  nne  of  niiiney  ns  to  liccomo  a  bankrupt,  and 
an  exile  in  France,  lie  refused,  however,  nil  otters  of  preferiuejit  iu 
the  French  servieo,  and  in  177H,  he  was  enabled,  by  the  kinduess  of 
the  Uuke  de  lliron,  wlm  furnished  him  a  thousand  guineas,  to  return 
to  England.  The  next  year  he  was  a|>poinled  in  eotuinaiid  of  the  Lee- 
waril  Islands.  .Sailing  with  a  Heel  on  the  Hlh  of  .January,  17Ht),  he 
capturccl  a  large  Spanish  s(|uadron,  and  on  Ihu  l)iih  id'  the  same 
motith,  engaged  the  Spanish  s()uadriin  under  Don  ,luan  de  liangnra, 
whom  he  entirely  defeated,  taking  the  admiral's  tlagsliip,  the  I'henix, 
and  four  others.  Having  tlius  neulrali/.ed  the  efforts  of  the  French 
and  .Spaniards  against  (libr.iltar,  he  landed  reinforcements  and  sup- 
plies for  the  garriNiin  of  that  post.  Sailing  then  to  the  West  Indies, 
he  engaged  de  Guichen's  Heet  on  the  13th  of  .Vpril,  but  without  a'ly 
decisive  result  ;  after  proceeding  to  New  York  to  assist  .\dmiral 
Arbuihiiot,  he  return  d  to  the  West  Indies  in  December,  and  made 
an   ineffectual  atlenipl  to  recover  the  island  of  St.  Vincent. 

On  receiving  tidings  of  the  commencement  of  hostilities  with  Hol- 
land, he  seized  St.  Fusiaiia.  I'oiiti.-^cating  all  the  property  found  there, 
a  step  which  increased  his  unpopularity.  His  eugagonieuts  with  de 
Grnsso  given  in  the  text,  closed  his  naval  career.  He  had  been  al- 
ready superseded,  but  as  he  returned  in  triumph,  was  created  Baron 
Rodney,  of  Rodney  Stoke,  Somerset,  wiih  a  pension  of  jE'J  MM)  per  an- 
num. He  died  at  London,  May  \H,  170'i.  lie  married  I,  l.ady  Jane 
Coinpton,  sister  of  the  Karl  of  North'impton,  and  2,  Henrietta  Splc- 
cuni,  and  hud  issue  by  both. 


30 


OPERATIONS   OF   THE   FRENCH    FLEET 


since  the  greater  part  of  the  Cadiz  fleet  tbrnied  a  part 
of  ours,  and  I  can  say  in  truth  that  we  sailed  uiisiip- 
plied  with  most  of  the  articles  absohitely  necessary  for 
a  long  voyage  and  manned  moreover  with  wretclied 
crews.  We  were  ready  to  sail,  but  the  sailors  being 
unpaid  were  screaming  like  eagles,  wlien  Mr,  de  Cas- 
trie,  minister  of  the  navy,  ex-general  officer  of  cavalry, 
arrived  and  found  means  to  satisfy  them,  after  knock- 
ing at  a  Inmdred  doors,  tlie  treasury  being  exhausted. 
He  so  urged  the  de})arture  of  the  fleet  that  he  at  last 
got  it  under  way. 

It  is  an  extraordinary  thing  that  this  minister  has 

succeeded  in  winning  from  the  navy  a  friendship  and  t^s- 

teem  wliich  that  body  refuses  even  to  its  own  members. 

The  King's  fleet,  commanded  by  Lieuten- 

1781. 

Mnicli.        aut-(jeneral  Count  de  Grasse-Tilly,  set  sail 

Departure. 

on  Thursday,  March  22,  1781,  with  a  con- 
voy of  250  ships,  valued  at  thirty  millions  (of  livres). 
The  shore  was  lined  by  crowds  of  people  v.iijoyiiig  the 
pleasing  spectacle  of  so  large  a  numl)cr  of  vessels,  and 
M.  de  Castrie'  and  his  suite  liad  proceeded  to  the  Port 


'  Charles  Eugene  Gabriel  de  la  Croix,  Marshal  de  Castries,  born 
Feb.  Uo,  1727,  the  ininihler  liere  alluded  to,  had  been  in  the  most  im- 
portant campaigiLs  of  his  time.  His  first  service  was  as  an  infantry 
officer  at  Dettiugen.  At  the  siege  of  Maestricht  in  171K,  he  was  a 
brigadier.  We  then  find  him  commissary-general  of  cavalry  and 
niar(<chal-de-camp,  commanding  in  Corsica  in  1750.  He  was  wound- 
ed at  Uiisback,  fought  at  Lulxelberg,  and  look  St.  Ooar.  Having 
been  created  lieutenant-general,  ho  was  in  17r>'.l  at  tlie  battle  of  Min- 
dcii,  and  at  Warburg.  He  took  Uliinberg  and  Wesel,  and  at  (.'loster- 
canip  <lefeated  llie  Uukc  of  Hrunswlcl:,  wlio,  strangely  enough,  when 
de  Castries  died  an  exile,  erected  a  inonuinent    to   his  memory.     He 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


31 


Rie  (an  elevated  fort  commanding  the  roadstead), 
whence  he  contemplated  with  pleasure,  the  sea  covered 
with  an  immense  forest,  an  interesting  ol)ject  for  a 
minister  of  the  navy,  and  curious  to  the  chief  of  tho 
gendarmerie.  He  was  saluted  by  the  fort  on  his  arri- 
val, and  soon  after  by  the  Ville  de  Paris,  whicli  was 
opposite  to  him.  They  enabled  him  to  form  an  opin- 
ion on  naval  collisions,  for  he  witnessed  two  cases, 
and  they  must  have  augured  well  in  his  mind  as  to 
the  experience  of  the  officers  employed  in  the  Hoot. 
By  evening  we  were  out  of  sight  of  tlie  coast  and  its 
fortunate  inhal)itants,  whose  happy  lot  was  surely  en- 
vied, for  a  Frenchman  never  leaves  his  native  land 
without  grief,  or  at  least  without  a  regret,  which  can- 
not be  defined. 

The  slow  sailing  of  the  ships  in  the  convoy  long  re- 
tarded us  by  the  little  headway  they  made,  for  all  the 
favoi-able  winds  ;  still  we  doubled  Cape  Finisterre  on 
Sunday,  the  2.5th,''  on  which  day  we  fell  in  with  a  Swe- 
dish snow.  In  the  evening,  a  cutter  started  for  Brest 
to  announce  our  getting  out,  and  it  took  letters  for 
our  home.     Many  of  us  did  not  write,  so  tortured 


was  dangerously  wounded  at  Amoeneburg,  Sept.  22,  1702.  Other  offi- 
ces were  entrusted  to  him  from  his  activity  and  energy,  and  ho  was 
successively  commander  in  chief  of  gendarmerie,  governor-gonaral  of 
Flanders  and  Uainaut,  and  in  1780,  as  stated  in  tiic  text,  minister  of 
the  navy.  In  1785  he  was  created  marshal  of  France.  Faithful  to 
the  dynasty  which  he  liad  served  so  gallantly,  ho  retired  into  oxilo  at 
the  revolution,  and  died  at  Wolfenbuttel,  January  11,  1801. 

'  The  next  account  says  27th. 


32 


OPERATIONS  OF   THF   FRENCH   FLEET 


were  thoy  hy  sou  sickness,  a  disease  which   meets  no 
pity,  th()n<i:h  it  richly  deserves  it. 

The  winds  being  constantly  tavoi'able,  on  Thursday 
the  20th,  the  India  division,  under  the  Hailly  de  Suf- 
fren,'  the  Heron,  Annihal,  Sphi/iu:  Vi'ntjcia;  and  Artcsini, 
with  forty  nierchantinen,  left  us.  We  were  then  op- 
posite Lisbon,  about  one  hundred  and  iifty  leagues 
oft".  The  wind  fell  and  it  was  only  the  next  morning 
that  we  lost  sight  of  them.  At  this  point,  a  part  of 
the  fleet  took  vessels  in  tow,  and  when  we  reached 
the  isles,  every  one  of  us  hud  a  train. 

On  the  2nd  of  Api'il,   we  were  oft*  ^^adei^a, 
thirty  leagues  distant.     At  tivt-  next  morning, 
order  for  forward  chase  ;    evening,  order  to  form  in 


April. 


'  Pierre  Andre?  (ic  Siiffrcii  de  St.  Tropoz,  wns  born  at  St.  Cannat  in 
Provence,  .Inly  !■),  1720,  and  was  llio  lliird  son  of  llic  Marquis  dc  St. 
Tropez.  He  entered  the  navy  in  1743 during  the  war,  and  was  almost 
iinniedialely  in  action.  He  wa.s  in  the  Trident,  in  tlie  Duke  d'An- 
villc's  squadron,  sent  against  Cape  Breton,  and  liis  vessel  was  one  of 
the  few  that  escaped  llio  disasters  that  befell  the  expedition.  Ii  he 
engagement  with  .dmiral  Ilawkcs  off  Uellisle,  Oct.  25,  1747,  he  fought 
as  ensign  on  the  Monarqut  till  she  struck,  .\fter  tile  peace  of  Aix- 
la-Cimpelle,  he  went  to  Malta  and  entering  the  order  of  S'.  John  of 
Jerusalem,  made  his  regular  caravans ;  but  on  the  breaking  out  of 
war  again,  the  Chevalier  de  Suffren  embarked  on  the  Dauphin  Royal, 
iu  the  fleet  of  Count  Dubois  de  la  Mothe,  for  Canada.  He  next  served 
in  tlie  .Mediterranean  fleet  under  tlie  Marquis  dc  la  Galissoni^re  as 
Lieutenant  of  the  OrpliOc,  and  took  part  in  Byng's  defeat,  but  in  17S9 
was  taken  on  the  port  of  Lagos  by  the  English.  He  became  captain 
of  a  frigate  in  1707,  cnplnin  of  a  ship  of  the  line  in  1772,  having  in 
the  Interval  attained  ilio  grade  of  commander  in  his  order.  When 
France  took  pnrt  in  our  revolutionary  struggle,  tlie  commander  de 
Suffren,  as  captain  of  tlic  Fantasquc,  served  in  d'Estaing's  fleet,  and 
was  sent  from  Boston  to  take  Ave  English  frigates  at  Newport  He 
then  took  part  in  the  capture   of  Grenada,   in  the  engagement  with 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


33 


line  of  battle,  which  was  executed  only  next  morning, 
HO  much  good  will  was  there  in  the  fleet  and  convoy, 
which  had  the  air  of  amusing  itself  to  prevent  the 
manceuvre  ;  this  is  a  pretty  fair  specimen  of  the  mili- 
tary subordination  in  our  ships  generally,  and  the 
royal  navy  especially. 

Here  for  the  iirst  time,  I  perceived  the  effect  which 
the  sea  has  on  dispositions.  The  lieutenant  of  the 
store  sliips  flew  into  a  jtassion  with  a  poor  clerk, 
who  had  perhaps  done  his  duty  too  conscientiously, 
and  gave  him  slajis,  blows,  etc.,  a  very  ordinary  cere- 


Byron,  and  blockiided  Savannah  with  a  squadron  prior  to  the  assault. 
In  the  Zeli,  in  1780,  he  formed  part  of  the  French-Spanisli  fleet  under 
Don  Luis  dc  Cordova,  and  perceiving  the  advantage  of  coppering 
ships,  urged  it  on  government.  In  1780,  he  was  sent  with  a  squadron 
to  protect  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  against  the  English,  and  set  out  as 
stated  in  the  text  with  the  Count  de  Qrasse,  bearing  as  a  marine  the 
future  Iting  of  Sweden,  Bernadotte.  On  the  IGlhof  April,  he  engaged 
Commodore  Johnston  in  La  Praya  bay.  After  protecting  the  cape  he 
joined  the  fleet  of  Count  d'Orvcs,  and  on  his  death  took  the  command. 
He  engaged  Admiral  Hughes  jfF  Sadras,  Feb.  17,  1782,  again  oft'  Pro- 
vedien,  April  12,  and  otf  Negapatam,  July  6.  Received  with  high 
honor  by  Hyder  Ali,  SulTren,  now  Bailli,  besieged  and  took  Trinque- 
male,  beating  otf  tlie  English  fleet.  Holland  struck  a  medal  in  his 
honor  and  ordered  Houdon  to  execute  his  bust. 

In  June,  1783,  he  forced  Hughes  to  raise  the  blockade  of  Cuddalore, 
and  again  engaged  his  fleet.  The  news  of  the  peace  arrested  his  fur- 
ther proceedings. 

On  his  return  to  France  he  was  received  with  great  honors,  his  own 
Provence  struck  a  medal  to  commemorate  his  service  ;  and  tlie  king 
created  him  vice-admiral  of  France.  He  died  at  Paris,  Uecomber  8, 
17K8,  when  on  tlie  point  of  proceeding  to  Brest  to  take  command  of  a 
fleet. 

Hennequin,  Ksmi  Ilislorique  mtr  In  vie  et  lea  campagncs  du  Bailli  du 
Su^)'ren,  Paris,  1824,8:  Compare  Andrews,  IIi»tory  of  the  War,  &c.  iv, 
82()-3r)7. 

a 


34 


OPERATIONS   OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


mony  in  the  king's  ships,  where  a  clerk  is  rated  about 
as  a  (log. 

On  the  4th.  we  found  ourselves  under  the  trade 
winds,  so  called,  because  they  always  blow  in  the 
same  direction,  are  very  gentle,  and  consequently  ren- 
der the  sea  beautiful. 

On  the  5th,  the  Sa(/iUaire  steered  for  Boston,  taking 
thirty  vessels  as  a  convoy.' 

The  next  day  we  were  becalmed  and  the  general 
made  all  form  in  line.  On  the  return  of  oui  boat,  we 
learned  from  an  officer  who  came  from  the  Ville  de 
Paris,  that  the  English  were  at  sea  with  a  ilcet  of  28 
vessels,  and  a  convoy  of  '200,  going  to  (libraltar  or 
America,  Mr.  de  Grasse  proposing  to  give  them  a 
sound  thrashing  if  he  met  them.  So  he  promised  us, 
but  he  did  not  keep  his  word. 

On  the  9th,  the  calm  having  ceased,  we  held  on  our 
way,  and  nothing  eventful  occurred  till  the  12th,  when 
we  witnessed  the  swamping  of  a  boat,  which  showed 
that  form  of  death  in  all  its  horrors. 

It  is  usual  for  vessels  sailing  as  a  fleet,  to  do  the 
butchering  with  their  neighbors  ;  ours  had  been  kill- 
ing, and  the  cai)tain  ordered  the  boat  to  be  lowered 
to  go  and  get  meat ;  we  were  then  running  four  knots 


'  These  vessels  carried  six  hundred  and  sixty  recruits  for  Rocham- 
bcau's  army,  and  reached  Boston  in  June,  four  liundred  only  being  fit 
for  duly.  The  .\bb6  Robin,  author  of  a  volume  of  travels,  came  as 
chaplain  with  this  body.  The  t^uyittaire  bore  a  letter  from  de  Grajise 
to  Rochanibeau,  dated  at  sea.  March  2'.t,  proposing  joint  action.  An 
extract  will  be  found  in  Sparks's  Washinyloii.  viii,  76. 


UNDER  TUE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


36 


an  hour,  that  is  to  say,  we  were  making  about  four 
miles  an  hour ;  we  did  not  lie  to  to  effect  this  opera- 
tion, althongli  the  sea  was  running  high  ;  the  boat 
was  let  down,  but  the  sailors  forgot  to  make  it  fast 
behind,  which  caused  their  ruin;  for  as  the  vessel  held 
on,  the  swell  taking  the  boat,  drove  it  against  the 
ship  and  soon  stove  it  in  ;  the  water  rushing  in  would 
have  swamped  it  at  once,  had  it  not  been  made 
fast ;  the  next  swell  dashed  the  boat  against  tiie  ship 
and  it  went  to  pieces ;  the  little  crew  did  all  they  could 
to  save  the  boat,  but  in  vain  ;  it  soon  went  down,  and 
I  saw  the  poor  fellows,  five  in  all,  go  down  with  the 
fragments  ;  I  saw  the  master  come  up,  then  three  of 
the  sailors ;  the  tirst  got  on  board,  the  other  three, 
while  he  was  getting  up,  had  disappeared  in  spite  of 
the  ropes  thrown  out  to  them,  niul  all  that  it  was  hu- 
manly possible  to  do  to  save  them  ;  then  he  sprang 
into  the  water,  dived,  and  brought  up  by  the  hair  two 
men  whom  he  rescued  from  the  jaws  of  death  ;  he  has 
them  hoisted  up,  and  in  a  numner  devoting  himself  to 
certain  death,  in  spite  of  the  cries  of  the  crew,  he  dove 
again  and  rescued  his  third  comrade  from  death  ;  then 
he  swam  around  the  vessel,  looking  for  the  last  of  his 
party  whose  head  he  saw  crushed  between  the  frag- 
ments of  the  boat  and  the  vessel.  Then  he  got  on 
board,  met  the  captain,  asked  pardon  for  losing  the 
boat  and  a  man,  and  having  obtained  forgiveness, 
asked  the  command  of  another  boat ;  and  having  re- 
ceived it,  went  next  day  for  his  meat.     What  an  ex- 


h  R 


36 


Oi'EKATlONS   OF   THE    FRENCH    FLEET 


ample  of  firmucsirt  did  not  this  rniiii  give  I  Surely, 
among  the  Itomaim  he  would  have  obtained  the  civic 
crown. 

Our  voyage  continuing  favorable,  there  came  up 
with  evening  an  extraordinary  courier  of  the  good  old 
Tropic,  to  announce  to  the  statt"  and  all  the  crew,  that 
we  would  next  morning  enter  the  torrid  zone,  a  vast 
country  belonging  to  his  master  :  that  he  would  come 
in  person,  attended  by  a  numerous  staff  of  officers  and 
his  high  priest,  to  j)ay  a  visit  to  the  captain  and  those 
whom  he  had  long  known,  and  to  jM-odaim  to  the 
others  that  no  one  could  sail  in  the  burning  region 
without  being  first  purified  and  aspersed  with  the 
bitter  wave,  enjoining  on  each  one  to  examine  him- 
self. He  made  protestations  of  sincere  fridudship  on 
behalf  of  his  master,  to  his  old  acquaintances.  Then 
with  a  terril)le  and  very  disagreeable  noise  he  returned 
to  the  mast  head. 

On  tlie  13th,  at  six  o'clock  if   tlie  morning, 

BaptiHm.  . 

we   heard   an    extraordinary   symphony    in 

the  mastheads  and  rigging ;  it  was  old  Tropic's  cou- 
riers. One  put  himself  on  guard  at  the  cabin  door  to 
await  the  captain's  waking  and  ask  him  his  hour;  he 
rejdied  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  see  his  sable  ma- 
jesty at  ten.  In  consequence,  at  half-past  nine  down 
from  the  mizzen  mast  head  came  twenty  sailor  boys 
all  naked  and  all  black ;  they  began  the  march,  and 
announced  at  the  top  of  their  lungs  the  coming  of  the 
hideous  sovereign,  holding  a  cup  of  water  in  his  hand ; 


^^j^^-:-^-\-'a'^ii\^h. 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GKASSE. 


87 


then  down  from  tlio  tbretop  came  the  high  prienv, 
robed  in  white,  with  white  beard  and  wig,  preceded 
by  twelve  men  bearing  bookw  and  torches  to  swear 
people  in ;  all  these  ranged  themselveH  on  the  right. 
Soon  after  a  snperb  car  appeared  in  the  main  top, 
formed  of  shells  of  sea  monsters,  drawn  by  four  sharks. 
This  descended  to  the  sound  of  a  rude  f — g,  mingled 
with  the  SOU"  I.  of  the  extraordinary  instruments  that 
had  l)een  heard  from  daybreak.  It  was  [)receded  by 
twelve  old  fellows,  younger  brothers  of  the  sable  mon- 
arch, all  dressed  in  red,  trinmied  with  various  colors. 
They  ranged  themselves  on  the  right  while  their  elder 
brother  got  out  of  his  chariot  and  went  to  pay  his 
compliments  to  the  captain.  On  his  return,  he  again 
entered  his  chariot,  and  ordered  his  high  priest  to 
begin  the  ceremonies.  He  accordingly  took  a  seat  in 
front  of  a  table,  while  two  of  his  people  took  their 
seats  on  stools,  beside  a  tub  full  of  water  over  which 
was  a  plank.  An  ensign  was  called  and  put  on  the 
board  near  the  table,  and  surrounded  by  the  suite  of 
the  head  chaplain,  who  asked  him  his  age,  how  many 
voyages,  by  what  straits,  and  o!»  what  sea  he  had  sailed; 
«)f  how  many  male  children  he  was  father,  with  the 
circumstantial  details  of  all ;  whether  he  had  had 
any  connexion  with  a  sailor's  wife  or  daughter ;  after 
this  thev  threw  water  on  his  head ;  mean  while  the 
plank  was  slipped  away  and  my  gentleman  found  him- 
self with  his  back  in  the  water,  caught  so  that  he 
could  not  stir.     Then  a  glass  of  water  was  poui'ed  on 


38 


OI'KUATIONS   OK   TIIK   FKENCll   FLEET 


li'iH  Ih'iuI,  h'lH  tbreheiid  (laiiiu'd  black,  and  a  plate  pre- 
Hi'iitod  ill  which  ho  iiiUHt  i>ut  n  <iiverpieco,  after  which 
ho  WUH  taken  out.  Another  soeceeds  him,  and  80  it 
^ooH  throu^'h  the  ntaft"  and  gentlemen  on  board,  paH- 
Heiigei'H  aH  well  aH  others.  After  this  there  falls  a 
heavy  rain  front  the  toitinastn,  Asctting  evervthing ; 
the  biicketrt  along  the  vewsel  are  constantly  filled  and 
ponred  ov»'r  Home  one'.s  back.  This  is  kept  up  some 
si.\  Ikuii'm,  and  during  this  last  cercnion}'  the  sable 
H(»veri'ign,  the  high  priest,  and  their  suite,  are  at  the 
caboose  (plaiu!  where  victuals  are  given  out),  getting 
drunk  with  the  money  that  they  have  received  ;  this 
debauch  lasts  usually  three  or  four  days. 

(Jood  wind  and  sea  high.  On  the  18th,  the  admiral 
despatchi'd  the  cutter  Paiidour  to  Martiniipie  to  an- 
nounce to  Mr.  du  Houille,'  governor  of  the  Windward 
isles,  the  arrival  of  the  fleet,  and  the  rich  convoy, 
whii'h  was  e,\j»ected  with  the  greatest  impatience,  as 
t)Ur  islcH  were  destitute  of  many  things,  and  the  store- 
houses empty. 


I  KrniiciN  (Jlniiilo  Amour,  MnrtiiiiH  du  Uuiiill*',  u  uiitive  of  Auvergnc, 
Hvrvud  tirxt  In  (liu  (irngnotiH  mid  roHo  to  the  rank  of  niarcclial  du  cam)). 
Ho  WOH  niftdii  Kovi-rnor-goncral  of  the  Windward  isles,  wliere  he  greatly 
diHlingiiiHlied  lilniNelf,  On  hisru^'irn  he  was  made  lieutenant-general 
and  |iro)inNuil  for  the  voniniand  of  a  }>"ojccted  invasion  of  India,  At 
tiio  uoininvncvinoni  of  the  French  revolution  he  reduced  an  insurrec- 
tion at  Nancy,  and  endeavored  to  effect  a  .-lompromise,  but  took  flight 
wliuii  the  king  waH  arrested,  lie  endeavored  to  induce  the  king  of 
Sweden  lu  aid  l.ouin  XVI,  and  on  the  assrssination  of  the  former,  re- 
tired to  liondoti,  where  he  ilied  Nov.  '.4,  18(M),  aged  62.  He  wrote 
mcMioirit  (111  the  French  revolution,  published  in  English,  at  London, 
in  17U7,  iiud  iii  thu  original  at  Paris  in  liiOL 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


89 


The  lOtli,  we  took  and  eat  a  little  fish  called  the 
pilot  firth,  about  ten  or  twelve  inches  lonjj;,  with  firm 
white  flesh.  It  takes  its  name  from  servinff  as  a  guide 
to  the  shark,  to  the  hack  of  which  it  fastens  itself 
when  it  finds  an  opportunity,  and  lives  by  the  oil  that 
exudes  from  the  pores  of  that  frightful  animal.  Tlie 
sucker  is  another  little  fish  which  also  lives  on 
the  oil  of  the  shark,  but  it  is  diflieuit  to  separate  it, 
and  I  saw  one  that  they  could  not  get  off,  and  so  the 
crew  eat  it  with  the  shark  to  which  it  adhered.  This 
firth  is  very  delicate.  T  also  saw  goldfish  and  dolphin, 
which  is  abrtolutely  the  most  beautiful  kind  of  fish 
possible ;  it  is  al)out  thirty  inches  long,  gold,  azure, 
mingling  with  a  ground  of  green,  which  forms  a  most 
agreeable  variety.  Its  ttesh  greatly  resembles  mack- 
erel. When  this  fish  is  out  of  water  it  becomes  green, 
spotted  with  gold,  and  when  dead  it  is  white.  The 
male  dolphin  preserves  its  colors  longer  when  taken  ; 
it  is  also  longer  and  thicker  than  the  female.  This 
fish  is  very  voracious,  and  so  is  the  bonite,  which  is 
two  to  three  feet  long,  and  always  in  pursuit  of  the 
flying  firth.  Its  flesh  is  very  dry,  even  more  so  than 
the  goldfish,  not  being  as  goxl  as  the  latter,  and  liv- 
ing further  from  the  shore. 

On  the  22d,  we  were  separated  from  tb  )  rest  of  the 
fleet.  IIow  sad  a  spectacle  is  that  of  a  solitary  vessel  I 
What  a  vast  desert  does  not  the  solitude  of  the  sea 
then  present !  To  see  only  the  sky  and  the  waves,  two 
or  three  hundred  leagues  from  land  I     What  a  secret 


40 


OPERATIONS  OF   THE   KRENril   FLEET 


iii-w 


piiln  (Iocs  not  a  jnan  tlioii  oxporicnoe,  who,  aorurttoincd 
to  livo  with  his  t'enowiiion,  lives  hut  witli  the  finli. 
Tho  lu'xt  (hiy  T  nguin  hohehl  tlio  floot  iiiul  tlio  roiivoy, 
to  my  groat  Hatirifaotion  ;  tor  I  sliouUl  have  died  had 
iiotliiiig  diverted  me  from  tlie  gh)omy  retlectioiirt  in 
whieh  I  was  phiiigeil.  "NVe  took  a  merehaiit  vessel  in 
tow,  and  the  wlioh*  fleet  was  soon  crowding  sail. 

On  the  24th,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  hirds. 
Ah,  what  joy  I  felt.  This  assured  us  that  we  wero 
not  over  one  liundred  and  fifty  leagues  from  land,  and 
this  pleasure  was  a  lively  one  for  all ;  I  also  saw  flying 
fish  for  the  flrst  time.  This  little  aninnil  seven  or 
eight  inelies  long,  white  as  a  swan,  rises  some  flfteen 
or  twenty  feet  from  the  sea,  when  it  is  pursued  hy  tho 
honites  or  goldfish,  and  skims  tlirough  the  air  a  dis- 
tauee  of  perhaps  two  hundred  fathoms,  then  it  jdunges 
again  into  the  sea  to  moisten  its  wings,  and  h  often 
eaught  hy  its  enemies  whieh  swim  as  fast  as  it  flies. 
They  are  generally  three  or  four  hundred  together. 
This  fish  is  really  the  mostdelieate  of  all  meats.  They 
can  be  taken  only  when  tliey  fall  on  hoard,  and  this 
happens  quite  frequently  in  small  vessels.  I  also  saw 
a  kind  of  vegetation  called  galeres,  which  is  very  sin- 
gular ;  it  hears  no  resemhlance  to  Flemish  caps, 
but  burns  also ;  tlie  galere  is  six  to  eight  inches 
long,  with  a  kind  of  pivot  in  the  middle  which  it 
raises  at  will,  and  on  which  are  two  fan  looking  wings 
that  act  as  sails.  When  it  hoists  its  mast  it  is  a  sure 
sign  of  wind.     It  is  of  a  violet  color  with  a  little  red. 


UNDKH   THE   COUNT    DE  HKASSE. 


41 


Ah  tln'y  Hiiil  pri'tty  fii^t  it  wiis  u  |iiistiiiu'  for  iih  in 
Aini'riran  HoaH,  to  oxainiiic  wlM'tlu'r  tlu-y  wtTo  iiiaHt 
up,  for  ill  tlioso  juu'ts  caliiiM  alxiiiiui. 

On  tlic  2Ttii,  wc  tool<  a  sliark,  fwi'iity  fct'l  Ion;;, 
tlii'oi!  fi'ot  and  a  lialf  in  (liainctor,  the  licad  twtnty 
iuciicK  lon^,  till'  inoiitli  ariiiod  with  Hi'vrii  raiin'cs  of 
tt'otii,  three  of  wiiioli  aro  iiiflc'xil)k>.  I  liave  Hoeii  thcHO 
aniinairt  take  in  the  head,  arms,  and  thi<^hs  of  a  iiiaii 
thrown  overhoard  (hirini;  or  after  a  ti<;ht.  Tiiin  finh 
in  full  of  an  oil  of  very  otieiisive  odor,  hut  this  does 
not  prevent  the  sailors  from  eatiiiij  it.  In  the  stomach 
of  this  one  they  found  a  shoe,  a  Hsh  half  <lii;esti'd,  and 
some  cards. 

On  Saturday,  the  2Htli,  at  H  A.  M.,  our  watch  (tried 
"  land  ahead  I"  It  was  in  fact  the  Moriic'  dii  Viiuclin, 
a  mountain  on  the  west  side  of  Martinicjue,  from 
which  we  wore  twelve  or  fifteen  leagues  oft'.  Signal 
t<»  clear  for  action  :  at  noon  we  saw  the  land  ([uito 
distinctly.  The  Novthitmbcvland' s  hoat  went  ashore 
to  bring  off  news  from  the  island  ;  the  I'dndour  not 
liaving  come  up,  the  admiral  learned  that  the  Knglish 
had  been  hlockading  our  ports  for  a  month.  Signal 
to  the  rteet  to  prepare  for  action  next  day,  and  orders 
to  heat  all  night ;  orders  to  the  convoy  to  close  in,  and 
to  its  escort  to  keej)  good  watch.  We  plied  to  wind- 
ward all  night  and  were  signaled  from  St.  Lucia. 

'  The  word  morne,  which  IVci|Uciitly  occurs  in  tlicso  joiirtialM,  Ih  u 
term  for  nioiintiiin,  used  in  the  French  West  Indies,  As  sonic  l-'rcncii 
Islands  pnsscd  into  tlie  liiiiub  uf  llio  English,  they  still  retained  the 
word. 


I 


42  OPKHATION.^yQF   TIIK    KUKNril    FLEET 


Ai'liiin  111 
M<i'ii 


Stiiidnv.  li'.ttli.iit  t!  A.  M.    Sitrniil  for  iimHrt 


'!"•'•  oil  nil  tlic  Hlii|is  of  tlu'  licet;  at  luilf-|mMt 
nix,  Hiifiiul  tor  crt'ws  to  lirnikliist ;  iit  seven  to  |ire|iiir(« 
for  iietioii,  :iii(l  for  the  tieet  to  Imir  the  hIioi'i'  of  Miir- 
tiiii<iiie,  (•onrte(|Ueiill,v  to  ki'ep  liefore  tlie  wind;  at 
fi'rlit,  tlie   friiriite   ill   tlie   van   Miufiialleil  tweiitv-tlireo 


nail 


aiK 


I    si 


le    Hooii    (ristiii''ilislie«l    eiifliteeii    Knirlisli 


nliips  of  tlie  line,  and  five  frii;ateH  or  eorvettes  ;  at 
nine  llie  <ii|itaiii  ordered  lis  to  leave  our  lireakfast  and 
take  our  jutsts,  an  order  alreadv  jfiveii  to  tlieerew,  for 
tlu'N'  were  all  at  tlie  jjfiins.  We  were  in  liattle  in  tlm 
natural  order,  and  tiie  Kiijilisli  fleet,  verv  well  formed, 
came  down  on  lis  under  lieiivv  sail,  with  the  (•onfideiice 
inspired  l»y  eertaintv  of  success,  supposiii<;  us  only  ten 
or  twelve  vessels.  At  halt'-piist  nine,  they  wore 
athwart  the  Diamond,  a  rock  at  the  extremitv  of  Mar- 


tinique 


towards  St.  Lucia,  when  the  ("oiint  de(irnss<> 


hoisted  liis  flaj;,  and  at  once  the    lydiii/iidlur  fired  on 
the  eiiemv,  hut  the  halls  did  not  reach,  and  when  tlicv 


can 


le  up,  the  Kni^lish  let  themselves   h(;ir  away,   h 


liv- 


ing made  us  out  to  he  twenty  ships  of  the  line,  and 
losiiit;  the  hope  of  carrying  ott'  any  vessels  of  our  con- 
voy, they  tacked  and  came  on  the  larhoard  tack  like 
UH.  Sijijnal  to  the  French  tl«'et  to  tack  in  Kiiceession. 
This  tended  to  hruij;  iis  nearer  to  the  i  neiiiy,  and  suc- 
ceeded to  a  certain  point,  hut  it  was  very  easy  to 
hriii^  them  more  under  our  tire,  as  we  were  to  the 
indward    of  them,   and  wliat  did  our  admiral    risk 


\v 


w 


itli  liis    twenty  vessels  ?      Mr.    l)'.\lhert    St.   Hippo- 


UNUKU   Till'.    COUNT    DK  tiUASSK. 


48 


lyto,'  camo  out  of  Fort  |{i>_val  witli  lour  voHrti'ln,  tlio 
VV(7(>(Vo,  74,  tlio  Siilihdn,  ♦54,  i-oiuiiiiiihUmI  liy  Mr.  <lo 
Vh'o,  till'  Iltj/irtii,  tl4,  (If  Miirij^'iiv,  tin-  Oifo,  ♦14,  do 
Kriiiiittiit,  HO  us  to  I'oviT  till-  fiitniiifc  of  tlu'  convoy, 
wliicli  *li(l  not  iR'od  it,  and  wliicli  took  no  pui't  in  tlio 
action.  At  noon  the  wind  tV-ll  and  wo  were,  mo  to  miy, 
i)ccaiincd  ;  four  Kn;;:lisli  vcshcIs  ran  afoul  ol'  I'acli 
otiior,  and  wi-rc  scparutcd  from  tiicirtlci't  ;  it  lian  hct-n 
decided  by  naval  ofKcerndf  Honic  experience,  that  they 
ou^ht  to  have  iteen  cut  otf  and  taken  ;  the  Soiioerain 
luarki'd  the  inaiKcnvre.  Mr.  de  (Jra.xse  paid  no  at- 
tention to  it,  and  comtuodore  Itoupiiiiville,''  would  not 

'  The  Clii'Vftlicr  d'Alborl  Hi.  Ilippolyto,  beoiimo  ii  cuminoiloro,  .Iiiii- 
iiary  I-,  ITM2,  nml  ('lii)iii|ii(>ti  ilt<  ('ic6  filhiiiiuil  lliu  Hitiiiu  rank,  AiigiiHt 
lilt,  17^1.  /><■  H'diiit/iiiir,  /-Jliil  (Ifnfriil  ilr  In  Fraiiii.  Tlio  liillor  n  iiii- 
tlve  (if  Kuiiiics,  ill  Uritiikiiy,  wiis  a  brollioi'  of  M)(r,  ilo  V\v6,  UiHliop  of 
Aiixi'iTo,  mill  lit'  Mgv.  ill'  Clue,  Ai'oliliiHJiop  (if  Itinilciiiix,  keeper  of  the 
xeiils  III  I.oiiIh  XVI.  /liai/i-jfiliie  /fniiniuf.  The  ViMcimiil  ile  Marigny, 
wlio  full  8()  nobly  on  his  veosel  llie  Ci^Mitr,  iiflor  ilofuiiiliiig  lior  to  the 
last  in  llio  fatal  bniile  •  \piil  \'2,  I7SJ,  was  a  bi'ollier  (if  Ihc  inoii 
faiiiiiiis  Cliarli"^  iturnnrHi,  Vineounl  de  Marigiiy,  wliu  bruuglit  Frank- 
lin over  in  llu    lielle  I'ouli!  in  I77M. 

'  LdiiiH  Viii'iMie,  Connt  ilu  llimgainville,  the  ttnu  of  ii  notary,  was 
horu  «t  I'arlH,  November  11,  17-'.t.  To  |ilease  his  family  lie  Hluilieii 
law  atil  wax  stlinitlcd  to  the  bar,  but  his  niatheiiinlical  faxte  led  liiin 
tu  tb«  aniiy.  After  publishing  a  work  on  the  Integral  I'aleiiliiH  in 
17-'i:i,  he  served  in  the  army  as  aid  major  and  aid  de  camp.  While 
t»inpornry  lecrotury  of  legation  at  London  in  I'.Vi,  iiis  literary  am- 
liiiion  was  gratified  by  being  made  a  member  of  ilio  Kuyal  Society. 
In  170(1,  lie  eame  to  Canada  as  aid  de  camp  to  .Moiiii'ivlin,  with  the 
lirevel  grade  of  captain  of  dragoons.  Hero  his  oaroer  was  ii  most 
lirilliant  one,  and  at  Lake  Ocorgo,  at  .Vbercrombic's  defeat,  and  in 
most  of  the  actions  of  the  war,  he  displayed  coiir^igo,  activity,  and 
military  skill.  In  \~^)i^,  he  repaired  to  Kr:iiiee  t.  (ditain  ruinforce- 
iricnts,  and  presented  to  the  eoinl  four  memorials  on  the  military  de- 


44 


OPERATIONS   OF   THE   FUKiNCll    FLEET 


take  tho  ro.s[K)iisil)ilit_v  on  him;  ultli(nii>ii  if  would 
liavo  hc'i'ii  iiiiich  moro  hoiiorabk'  than  to  pass  to  the 
windward  of  several  vessels  that  were  enganed  with 
the  enemy  to  the  leeward.  Our  fleet  then  entered 
Fort  Royal,  Martinicjue,  and  i)resented  a  most  ai^ree- 
al)!e  speetaele  ;  the  land  on  one  side,  the  Knu'l.sh  on 
the  other,  and  our  tleet,  formed  four  very  interesting 
yroujis.     All  efforts  to  bring  Admiral  Hood'  to  close 


fence  of  (^iniicl.i.  wliifli  show  no  ordinary  taU'nt.  Tlic  cross  of  St. 
Louis  rewariioil  his  past  uxcrlions,  but  liis  elo(iuent'e  was  unavailin(;f. 
Ho  returned  to  tight  tlic  desperate  tiglit  on  tlie  St.  Lawrence,  and  was 
ever  in  the  van.  Even  after  tlie  fall  of  Quebec,  he  was  at  Isle  aux 
Noix  disputing  every  inch  with  .\nilierst.  When  Vaudrcuil  capitu- 
lated, he  returned  to  France  anil  then  served  with  distinction  in  Ger- 
many. Having  taken  a  fancy  for  naval  affairs,  he  obtained  a  cap- 
taincy in  the  navy,  and  attempted  to  form  a  settlement  at  the  Falkland 
Isles,  but  was  appointed  by  government  to  surrender  tho  islands  to 
Spain,  after  wliich  lie  ma<U'  his  celebrateil  voyage  around  the  world, 
making  numy  discoveries  in  tlie  Pacific.  He  returned  to  St.  Malo  in 
ITti'J,  and  published  an  account  of  his  voyage  in  1771.  The  war  willi 
h'ngland  called  him  into  active  service.  He  commanded  the  (liirrriir, 
74,  at  Savannah  in  177S-'».  and  was  made  commodore;  in  de  tirasse's 
tleet  he  commanded  the  Aiiytmli,  Kit.  Strangely  enough  his  next  pro- 
motion was  to  be  mavechal-de-camj)  in  the  army  in  17Hl(.  In  17(M), 
he  endeavored  in  vain  to  restore  order  in  the  fleet  ofd'.Vlbcrt  de  Uions. 
He  was  one  of  the  vice-admirals  of  17'.i-.  In  17'.ili,  he  was  made  a 
member  of  the  Institute  in  the  section  of  geography,  and  became 
under  Napoleon,  senator  and  count  of  tlie  emjiirc.  He  died  August 
81,  IHll.  Besides  the  works  already  mentioned,  he  wrote  an  account 
of  the  Indians  of  North  .Vmerica.  Jiiu,/riij)liii'  t'liinrnrUe.  <>' ('iilliti/liiin. 
New  }'i)rk  CoUniittl  Duntmintii,  x.  1124.  /himtinu.  Lc  Vdnnthi  Smm  hi 
Domination  Fraii^ainc. 

'  Samuel,  Viscount  Hood  of  Whitley,  was  born  in  17-4,  at  Kutley, 
Somersetshire;  entered  the  navy  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  In  17'>7,  he 
was  cuiilain  of  the  Aiildn/'t',  olt,  and  captured  a  French  frigate.  Post 
cajitain  in  I'M,  lie  took  \nin  in  the  exiH'iliiion  against  (.Quebec,  caji- 
turiiig  the  liellona.      In  17i)H-',l,  he  was  at  llosloii  (■onimander-in-chief 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


45 


action  failed,  our  van  was  the  only  diviHion  ol  oiir 
fleet,  that  could  at  all  approacli  him.  The  action 
lasted  from  half-past  nine  till  three  ;  we  lost  only  one 
officer  killed,  one  dangerously  wounded,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men  killed  or  wounded.  Hood  munoui- 
vered  in  vain  to  enter  St.  Lucia,  l)ut  was  prevented 
hy  our  fleet,  which  might  and  should  have  done  liim 
much  injury.'  Admiral  Rochiey  was  then  husy  pillag- 
ing iSt.  Eustatia  the  only  Dutch  emporium  in  the 
Wiiulward  Isles.  We  pursued  the  English  for  three 
days  iiiefl'ectually,  although  they  had  tried  false  routes, 
hut  as  they  were  faster  sailors,  being  all  copper- 
sheathed,  and  our  fleet  half  and  half,  our  vessels  too, 


of  all  the  men  of  wiir  in  those  parts,  and  involved  in  the  atfair  of  Iho 
Uosc  frigate.  In  177S,  he  was  made  a  baronet,  and  in  17Hil,  rear  ad- 
miral of  the  blue.  For  his  part  in  tlie  victory  of  de  (JriisHe,  lie  wan 
made  liaron  Hood  of  Cathorington,  in  the  peerage  of  Ireland,  and  pro- 
moted to  the  ciiief  command  of  the  tleet.  Ills  great  achievement  wan 
however  the  destruction  of  the  French  arsenal  and  fleet  at  Tunloli,  lit 
M'M,  and  his  expulsion  of  the  French  from  Corsica  in  17111,  forwiilidi 
he  was  made  viscount  and  grand  cross  of  the  order  of  tlie  IJath.  He 
was  also  appointed  governor  of  Greenwich  Hospital,  wliich  oflico  lie 
held  till  his  death  at  Hath,  June  27,  1810,  at  the  age  of  02. 

'  The  otlier  journal  gives  a  different  account,  and  ascribes  the  etioapo 
ol  Hood  to  the  neglect  of  the  French  van  to  come  into  action,  ll  men. 
tions  the  /iiisurl,  Centaur,  Turha;/,  and  Inlrcpui,  as  having  sutferud 
most  in  the  English  line  ;  and  Hood's  letter  to  Rodney  admits  iho 
sinking  condition  of  the  llu.  lel.  His  loss  he  gives  as  'Ai)  killed  and 
It'll  wounded,  principally  on  tlie  Centaur,  liussil,  Skriw^lHirji,  and 
(lihniltiir,  which  were  very  much  damaged,  and  the  Cintaiir  losing 
her  captaiir  and  first  lieutenant.  Andrews'  lliHlory  n/ the  H'kc,  iv,  lit) 
.MiMuu's  A'cm.,  xii,  I7H.  /li.ilori/  af  l/ie  Cii'il  War  in  Anicra-d,  lii,  217. 
According  to  a  report  cited  hy  tlie  latter  wriler,  Hood  was  opposeil  to 
cruising  off  Fort  Uoyal  bay,  preferring  a  cruize  off  Point  Salines. 


n'j 


i 


4f) 


Ol'EUATIONS   OF   THE   FRENCH    FLEET 


being  much  oiiibarrassed  with  inorcliandiso,  it  is  not 
8Ui'i>risiiig  that  we  did  not  overtake  tlieni ;  hut  it  is 
astonishing  that  ^^^.  de  (Irasse  shoukl  have  commit- 
ted the  fault  of  letting  four  vessels  escape  that  he 
might  have  taken ;  this  led  to  a  dispute  at  St. 
I'ierre,  between  Commodore  liougainville  aiul  several 
luivy  otiicors  :  the  origin  of  an  ill  feeling  that  after- 
wards i)revailed  in  the  tleet. 

The  action  had  Iteen  over  altout  an  liour,  and  we 
were  at  tal)lc,  when  a  noise  like  that  of  an  eight 
pounder  was  heard  in  the  second  battery.  We  went 
down  and  found  a  gunner  killed  and  three  wounded  ; 
it  was  a  piiming  horn  that  had  exploded  and  killed 
the  careless  fellow  who  was  examining  it,  seated  on  a 
large  tub  full  of  water,  in  which  thc\-  i)luuge  the  lin- 
stocks, and  three  of  his  conu'ades  who  were  talking 
ten  paces  off,  were  severely  wounded.  (The  priming 
horn  is  a  cow's  horn,  in  which  the  priming  of  the 
oannon  is  put  aiul  which  is  used  to  jircss  tin-  [lowder 
into  the  touch-hole.) 

The  chase  of  the  Knii'lish  havin<;  nuule  uh  fall 
Mny. 

to  leeward,  it  cost  us  some  [)ains  to  regain  the 
island  of  Martinique,  and  we  auchoied  otf  the  fort 
onl}'  on  the  sixth  of  Mav  in  the  afternoon,  with  orders 
to  land  our  sick  at  once.  The  last  vessel  had  scarcely 
anchored  wlicn  the  admiral  signaled  to  iirc[)are  to 
make  sail.  In  fact  on  the  eighth,  at  four  i'.  M.,  we 
were  under  sail  making  for  the  channel  ;,f  St.  Lucia. 
Mr.  de  Houille  liad  embarked  in  tlie  moiniuir  on  ves- 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


47 


sels  called  Domaincs,  which  heloiig  to  the  king,  cost 
him  oxti'iivi 


itlv,  and 


•fuHIlth 


,h 


tiit;uiiiiv,  uuu  iiu>  ui  iiiiiii  iin:;ii' mission, 

commandod  by  hoggurs,  who  have  absolutely  no  object 
but  to  make  a  fortune,  and  who  can;  little  for  the  in- 
terests of  the  state.  "^"Iiey  had  on  board  a  part  of  the 
regiments  of  Champa*  ,  Auxerrois,  Viennois,  Dillon, 
and  Martinicpie,  wlilch  landed  by  night  at  St.  Lucia, 
and  I  have  been  told  by  otiicers  who  were  present, 
that  had  the  English  kept  good  watch,  a  landing  would 
have  been  impracticable.  Mean  while  we  cruized  in 
the  channel  and  were  fortunate  enough  to  pass  it. 
Then  it  was  that  the  Phiton  and  the  Experiment,  a 
vessel  of  ;")0,  which  had  Joined  us  at  Fort  Royal,  were 
detached  to  blockade  and  if  possible  take  Tobago.' 

On  the  11th,  the  Snint  Esprit  was  run  into  by  the 
Sceptre,  and  without  the  admiral's  order,  put  back  to 
Martini(pie  to  repair  her  bowsprit,  which  was  unser- 
viceable :  the  Sceptre  received  only  a  slight  damage. 

On  the  15th,  at  3,  we  anchored  in  the  old  road- 
stead of  St.  Lucia,  in  (iros  Islet  bay,  where  a  battery 
annoyed  us  considerably.  There  were  live  or  six 
others  that  kept  up  a  brisk  tire,  but  not  being  so  well 
posted,  and  the  calibre  being  smaller,  they  were  inef- 
fectual, in  fact  only  saluted  us,  but  seven  or  eight  of 
our  vessels  being  too  near  Gros  Islet,  were  obliged  to 
weitjh  anchor  and  draw  in  towards  the  anchorasi;e  of 


'  Tlie  sc'coiiil  journal  says  tliiit  d' Albert  de  Uious's  squadron  was  one 
sliip  ut'  tliu  line,  ai;d  two  -'jD  gunshi[>H,  with  transports  carrying  land 
troops  under  M  de  Itlancliolniule. 


I 


48 


Ol'KKATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


K 


:. 


the  Ville  dc  Paris,  aftt'r  asking  and  boing  refused 
leave  t'>  return  the  tire,  although  there  were  tive  or 
six  ni  li  wouiuUmI  and  three  killed.' 

On  the  l()th,  in  the  morning,  our  long  boats  and 
barges  went  ashore  to  bring  ott'  the  troops  there  and 
the  prisoners  they  had  taken  amounting  to  one  hun- 
dred and  tifty  men  and  two  otiicers.  Mr.  de  Bouille 
saw  clearly  that  the  Morne  Fortune  required  a  regular 
siege  which  could  not  be  undertaken  except  by  an 
army  of  twenty  thousand  men  aiul  its  train.''  Tlie 
enemy  made  no  greater  opposition  to  our  reembarka- 
tion  than  they  had  ^o  tlie  lauding  of  our  troops,  and 
we  set  sail  at  six  A.  M. 

The  brilliant  mana'uvres  that  tliey  made  ua  perform 
in  the  channel  kept  us  till  the  18th,  when  we  again 
anchored  off  Fort  Royal. 

On  the  2.'3th  we  set  sail  once  more,  after  taking  in 
water,  and  we  again  ran  tip  the  channel  of  St.  Ltu'ia. 
Our  wretched  sailors  st.  alarmed  an  English  frigate 
that  she  was  lost  on  the  coast  of  St.  Lucia.* 

On  the  21tth,  at  daybreak,  we  discovered  Tobago  on 
one  side,  and  on  the  other,  seven  English  vessels  and 


'  The  English  buttery  that  drove  them  off  was  on  Pigeon  Island. 
Breen'a  St.  Lucia,  Oil. 

'  The  second  journal  better  explains  this  affair ;  ile  Bouilld  had  an 
idea  of  fortifying  Gros  Islet  as  a  check  on  the  Englifih  work  at  Morne 
Fiirtinid,  hut  found  on  examination  that  there  was  not  time  enough  to 
thr'.w  up  sufficient  works.  He  seems  to  have  had  no  idea  of  attacking 
the  English  fort. 

'  Tliis  was  the  Thetis,  74,  which  struck  while  trying  to  enter  Caren- 
age  bay.     Ureen's  St.  Lucia,  70. 


UNDER  TUE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


49 


live  frigates,'  coming  to  the  relief  of  that  irtle,  and 
which  wouhl  have  taken  the  Plutov  and  Experiment 
had  we  not  arrived.  We  gave  them  chawe  l«iit  co  no 
puipoHe,  for  they  were  tliree  leagues  t()  our  windward. 
In  the  evening  the  Aujrette  asked  leave  to  give  chase, 
and  at  nine  she  took  a  brig  of  ten  guns. 

On  the  31st,  being  under  Tobago,  we  nude  several 
sail.  Our  chasers  to  the  number  of  three,  hoisted  the 
English  flag,  as  did  several  vessels  of  the  fleet,  and  the 
sail  we  had  discovered  came  and  threw  themselves 
into  our  hands.  A  slaver  which  we  did  not  see,  and 
which  had  at  least  two  hundred  and  flfty  negroes  on 
board,  did  the  same,  and  in  the  evening,  as  well  as  the 
next  day,  we  took  several  more  small  vessels. 

On  the  2d  of  Jurie,  about  4,  P.  M.,  the 

June. 

Capture  of     fleet  all  anchored  ott'  Tobago,  except  the 

Tobiigo.  ^  ^ 

SL  Esprit  and  Glorieux,  which  renuiined 
cruising  along  the  shore  of  the  island.  It  had  sur- 
rendered the  previous  evening  to  Mr.  de  Bouille,  who 
had  landed  with  eight  hundred  men  three  days  before. 
The  a])itarition  of  our  fleet,  the  slight  relief  they  could 
expec  t,  and  the  reputation  of  the  commander  on  shoi*e, 
had  induced  them  to  lay  down  their  arms.^  Notwith- 
standing the   reputation  for  huuumity,  which  Mr.  de 


'  This  was  Drake,  who,  according  to  Gordon,  had  six  sail  of  the  line, 
some  frigates,  a  regiment,  and  two  additional  companies,  for  the  relief 
of  the  island. 

"  Tlicse  operations  are  detailed  in  tlie  second  journal  and  in  the  ex- 
tract from  the  Jnurnal  de  France. 


50 


OPERATIONS   OK    THE    FRKNCH    FLEET 


Bouille  had  most  (loservedly  ucqiiircd,  a  luimbci- of  the 
iiihal)itaiitri  had  tted  to  the  liilKs  where  they  had  taken 
their  cattle,  a  [)art  of  which  was  foiuid  shiughtered. 
We  made  them  return  to  their  houses  without  doin^jf 
them  auv  harm,  only  that  a  few  of  Dillon's  soldiers, 
and  the  crews  of  the  Pluto  and  Experiment  command- 
ed hy  Mr.  de  Martelly,'  pillaged  a  little.  The  last 
named  otHcer  found  he  had  on  hoard  all  the  bells  ot 
the  houses,  which  they  had  taken  on  their  arrival, 
amounting  to  twenty-nine.  The  capture  of  T»)hago 
cost  us  only  three  men.  We  took  there  ten  olHcers 
and  three  hundred  and  sixty  men,  and  left  a  garrison 
of  eighteen  hundred  men,  arms  and  mone, . 

Toliago  is  twenty  leagues  in  circumference.  It  has 
only  18,000  negroes.  Tlie  air  is  very  unhealthy,  the 
soil  very  dry,  covered  with  swarms  of  ants,  which 
blight  the  sugar  cane,  so  that  thev  raise  only  cotton.  Its 
poi-t  is  snnvll,  and  its  roadsteads  many,  and  as  securo 
I)robai)ly  as  the  best  ports  in  the  West  Indies. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  third,  we  set  sail  again,  in 
conse(|Uence  of  the  signals  made  by  the  Gloritiix  and 
St.  Exprtt,  which  had  remained  cruising,  and  had  dis- 
covered the  enemv's  Hcet.  It  was  in  fact,  the  cele- 
brated  Kodney  coming  t"  the  relief  of  Tobago,  but 


'  The  second  journal  speaks  of  this  squadron  as  being  commanded 
hy  the  Chevalier  d'Albert  de  lUoni.  This  naval  officer  was  a  native  of 
Uauphiny.  lie  was  subsequently  a  commodore  and  commanded  the 
fleet  at  Ctierbourg  in  ITSfi  when  Louis  XVL  visited  it,  and  embarked 
on  his  vessel  the  Patriot.  In  IT'.l'l  he  commanded  at  Urest.  He  served 
under  Cond6  against  the  Kepublicans  in   17'.)2.  and  died  in  1810. 


E     { 


UNDER  THE   COUNT   DE  (JUASSE. 


61 


learniiig  that  it  wuh  taken,  he  would  not  hazai'cl  an 
action  that  could  rcHult  only  in  mutual  slaughter,  the 
fleets  being  of  equal  force.  Monsieur  de  (}rasse,  on 
the  contrary,  sought  to  engage  the  Knglish;  hut  being 
to  leeward,  he  could  not  overtake  them. 

On  the  t)th  we  entirely  lost  sight  of  them,  and  would 
luive  entertained  fears  for  the  JJrclor  had  it  not  left 
us  five  or  six  days  before  for  (Iranada,  the  only  port 
where  she  could  put  in,  being  in  a  most  wretched 
plight  since  she  ran  foul  of  the  Q'iar  ;  the  3Iedee, 
in  spite  of  her  injuries,  succeeded  in  getting  safe  into 
the  i»ort,  which  is  small  hut  ver}'  secure ;  it  might 
even  be  enlarged  to  twice  the  size  with  a  little  outlay. 

Our  chase  of  the  English  having  made  us  fall  con- 
siderably to  leeward,  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  our 
admiral  asked  the  bearings  of  several  vessels,  and  the 
whole  fleet  watched  carefully  for  the  signals  ;  for  so 
little  attention  had  been  paid  to  the  route  we  had 
nuide,  that  probably  no  one  except  Mr.  de  Chabert,' 
knew  where  he  was.     Fortunately,  however,  at  noon 


'  Jolin  Uernaivl,  Marquis  de  Chabert,  was  born  at  Toulon  in  17'J3. 
He  entered  tlie  navy  as  ensign  in  175!!,  and  by  lus  ability,  especially 
as  a  suientific  man  and  gallant  officer,  rose  to  be  vice-admiral  and 
lieutenant-general  in  the  navy.  He  died  December  2,  1805,  aged  ii'l. 
As  a  liydrographcr,  lie  rendered  essential  service  to  the  French  ma- 
rine. He  was  sent  in  1750  by  the  king  to  rectify  the  maps  of  the 
coasts  of  .Vcadia,  Cape  lircton,  and  Newfoundland,  and  to  fix  the 
principal  points  by  astronomical  observations.  On  his  return  lie  pub- 
lished an  account  of  his  voyage  at  I'aris  in  175it  in  4  vols.  The  allu- 
sion to  him  in  the  text  shows  that  he  was  considered  as  the  scientnio 
man  in  the  service. 


52 


Ol'KHAIIONH  OF   THE    KRENCH    FLEET 


tlio  (Uroctlnii  of  nil  wuH  good;  for  we  diHcoverod  Gra- 
iiiidii  on  one  Hide  and  our  now  conquest  on  the  other, 
al>out  thirty  U'ligiieH  apart.  We  anchored  oft"  Gra- 
na(hi  tiie  tenth. 

ThiH  inland  in  very  beautiful  and  good  ;  it  proihice^ 
MUgiir  ill  HhundHiiee  and  certainly  the  best  rum  in  the 
Wewt  IndicH,  It  in  very  well  defended,  the  French 
having  added  many  works  to  what  the  English  had 
already  when  Vice-admiral  Couii!  Destain  captured  it. 
The  population  in  considerable,  since  the  negroes 
Hinoiint  to  t!4,(K)0.  Mr.  de  IJouiile,  who  continued 
with  us,  as  well  as  the  troops  in  the  expedition,  dis- 
trihntecl  them  among  the  different  islands,  and  put 
every  thing  in  the  best  possible  order,  and  best  state 
of  deteiieo. 

On  the  I'Uli,  the  Meet  again  set  sail  and  lay  to  be- 
fore Ht.  Vincent,  waiting  for  the  general  of  the  troops, 
who  had  gone  there  the  d-  y  before.  Mean  while  sev- 
eral periugitas  full  of  Caribs  boarded  us,  and  offered 
us  tobacco,  which  in  my  opinion  is  good  for  nothing 
and  atfects  the  head  greatly.  The  Caribs  are  copper 
colortid,  large,  strong,  and  vigorous  ;  they  have  the 
forehead  tiatter  than  other  negroes.  There  are  none 
except  on  this  island,  and  three  fanulies  in  Dominica. 
They  iu!ver  marry  out  of  their  trine,  and  punish  se- 
verely any  of  their  women  who  go  with  the  blacks,  or 
even  with  the  whites. 

There  grows  in  this  isle,  and  that  of  St.  Lucia,  a 


UNDER   TUE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


53 


tree  calU'd  Maiiclii'iiiHier,'  the  wood  of  wliidi  when 
worked,  is  ('ortainl;y  the  liuiidsomeHt  in  the  West  In- 
dies, but  whieh  is  also  one  of  tlie  most  (hmgerous  pro- 
d  f'tions  of  the  conntiy ;  for  it  constantly  distils  a  sap 
wliich  iMirns  more  violently  than  the  best  vitriol. 
Those  who  are  so  niducky  as  to  sleej)  under  it,  jjene- 
rally  lose  their  eye  sight.  We  saw  its  sad  etfeets  on 
several  of  our  soldiers;  and  s(mie  even  who  passed  the 
night  under  large  Manehenillier,  whieh  were  losing 
their  sap,  awaked  paralized  in  the  lind»  on  whieh  a 
drop  had  fallen.  This  tree  is  cut  down  by  tire,  and  is 
not  worked  till  thirty  years  after  it  is  felled ;  for  there 
are  many  examples  of  workmen  vei-y  dangerously 
att'eeted  on  putting  the  axe  to  it  after  twenty  years. 

I  liad  forgotten,  when  speaking  of  St.  Lucia,  to 
mention  the  enormous  length  and  bidk  of  the  rattle 
snakes,  of  which  that  island  is  full.  Tliev  are  jfene- 
rally  twenty  or  thirty  feet  long,  and  huge  in  proportion, 
and  their  sting  is  mortal.  They  are  found  also  in  the 
other  isles,  for  at  Fort  Koyal  in  Martinicpie,  I  saw  one 
at  an  ajtothecary's  full  twenty-two  feet  long.  The 
negroes  have  a  mortal  fear  of  this  aninud.  This  coun- 
try is  generally  full  of  all  kinds  of  venomous  aninuils, 
and  when  you  walk  around  the  house  you  must  take 
precautions  to  avoid  the  reptiles  which  abound  there. 

On  the  18th  of  June,  the  Heet  anchored  at  Fort 


'  This  tree,  the  Mancliincel,  wns  described  by  Columbus,  iiiul  luiison- 
0U9  qualities  attributed  to  it.  There  is  possibly  some  exaggeration 
about  its  ettects,  but  its  dangerous  character  is  indisputable.    ISiandc. 


54 


orKKATIONS   OK    THK    KKKNCII    FI-KKT 


Koyal,  ill  Martini(|iu'.  Wo  then'  UMiriicd  that  (iiintij^ 
our  cniiHi',  a  wator-Hjumt  (a  coiisideral)!!'  culuiiiii  of 
air  and  water),  n  coiiiiiion  tiling;  onoiigh  in  tlu'  WoHt 
IndioH,  had  tallon  partly  on  tliiit  inhtud.  in  the  eliannel 
and  on  St.  Jiiu-ia's,  wJierc  it  liad  devantatcd  one  <'an- 
ton.  Home  planters,  and  nuuiy  negroes  were  drowned  ; 
and  the  most  di^tingllished  people  of  the  isle  liad 
taken  refuge  on  t  lie  more  whipN  the  Union  and  the  i'V<7\ 
the  water  having  risen  to  six  or  He\en  feet  in  tho 
streets  of  Fort  Royal.  Our  admiral  gave  an  onter- 
tainn»ent  to  Mme.  de  Houille,  whieh  was  returned  hy 
her  husl)nnd ;  and  to  his,  were  inviti'd  the  ladies  of 
Martinitjue  and  the  otfieers  of  the  two  fones.  These 
entertainments  were  not  over  hrilliant,  play  oeeupying 
most  of  the  daneei-s.  1  sliall  have  oeeasion  elsewhere 
to  desc'ril>e  wliat  these  halls  are,  and  how  people  act 
at  them  :  I  shall  therefore  not  speak  of  these.  During 
our  stay  the  frigates  visited  the  different  ports  of  the 
island,  and  those  of  tlie  neighhoring  isles,  to  eolleet 
all  the  vessels  hound  to  Cape  Kran(;ois,  and  those  that 
were  to  return  to  P]urope. 

The  oth  of  July,  the  fleet  and  its  eonvoy  of 
over  two  hundred  vessels,  hoisted  sail  in  fine 
weather,  good  wind,  and  heautifui  sea.  We  went  lo 
Grenadina,  an  island  dependant  on  (iranada,  in  search 
of  the  Hector  and  a  eonvoy  of  fifteen  sail.  After 
making  the  junction,  we  steered  for  Cape  Francois, 
while  the  Knglish,  starting  from  Barhadoes,  wliieli  had 
since  the  affair  of  April  'il'th,  been  their  general  post, 


•liily. 


^■£^&Si£^f,^J^^^,tts£Ai^f- 


•-^^^u^^  •^^ii^,>^^t^Aaji'k;t4^iib^^^iSS&t^iii£sa^'^)jata«^^iS^^^ 


^.K  j;.iiA*«ijjAV^A 


UNDKU   THE   (JOUNT   DK  GRA8SK. 


55 


Htt'ertul  f(»r  .liiniiiic-u,  whence  Rodney  Hailed  with  hit* 
treHHure  for  Knghmd.  He  carried  alon^  iil>4o  (h(>  |)riH- 
onerH  he  I'.ad  taken  from  uh,  there  heinj^  no  lonj^er  any 
cxeliaii)(es  in  America,  from  C'onnt  de  Gniclien'H  arri- 
val ill  thoHc  partK,  We  had  prinonerH  on  our  rthi|m 
•luring  tlic  whole  criiiHe.  and  finally  landed  them  at 
HrcHt. 

On  tlie  l.Hth,  heinjf  (»tl'  the  coast  of  Porto  Rico,  and 
athwart  Dead  Chent  inland,'  we  were  HurpriHed  hy  a 
terrihle  Htorin.  The  Heet  iind  convoy  wen-  ol)lij^ed  to 
lay  to  for  several  honrs,  the  liufhtninj;  striking;  every 
moment  among  \ik. 

On  the  14th,  Comnninder  de  Olandevewe  was  de- 
tached with  four  vewselw  to  cruine  around  St.  Domingit 
and  Hundl  isles  adjacent  to  the  leevvurd.  and  to  relieve 
the  Actionnaiir,  74,  which  wc  had  been  assured  was 
blockaded  hy  two  Knglish  ships  of  the  line,  and  two 
frigates. 

On  the  ir)th,  about  4,  P.  M.,  the  vesHels  in  the  van 
sigmdied  sails  to  the  windward  of  tiie  Cape  Pass,  and 
when  we  had  passed  Ija  Orange,  we  recognized  the 
division  of  the  0<>!>.'.inodore  Manpiis  de  Monteuil.^  It 
consisted  of  the  Paftiiiir.  74,  the  Ueslin,  74,  comnuinded 


'  One  of  llio  Virgin  iBliimlH. 

<  Adlioiiiar,  Marquis  do  Muntoil,  was  born  in  Languodoo,  of  a  fam* 
ily  wliioli  waHfiiinoiiB  in  tlic  cnisadea  iind  of  wliich  tliu  iiitil  dcscundant 
in  Hiiiil  10  be  the  Lieutcuant-colonel  Viguier  de  Aloiituil,  )<illcd  at 
Honnoke  in  1H(J2.  Tlio  marquis  conimaudod  tlic  Palmier,  71,  in  de 
Ouiviicn'H  action  with  Kodncy  in  17811,  took  part  iu  the  xiogc  of  I'en- 
navulii,  and  contributed  materially  to  de  CiraHHe'a  defeat  aa  wo  iihall 
Dee. 


1 


.  ij;":..''iii..'*-.'3Jj.^.--'i'*.  ■ 


56 


orKKATMKNS  OF   TIIK    KUKNCII    »'I,KKT 


l>v  Mr.  (K'  (Joim|ty,'  tlu'  Trihui,  «I4,  Cuptain  Mr.  do 
I'it'riTt'i'U,  and  a  fiiuatf.  Tlu'  liiln^fwk,  74,  liad  re- 
iiiaiiu'dat  tlioaiu'hora^c  ;  it  liad  all  lU  iiuiHtM  on  hIkm'o, 
art  it  had  HiiHi-rrd  »(>MMid»'ral)l_v  in  tlu'  utoriu  whivh  tliif* 
littli'  M(|iiadron  t'X|K'rit'n<t'd  on  its  wav  baik  tVoni  tlio 
expedition  ajjainft  I'i'nnai'ola,  a  plaff  at  the  fxtirmitv 
of  tlif  (inlf  oC  Mfxifo,  and  wliit-h  would  ncvi'i"  liavt- 
fallen  into  the  Inuxls  of  Spain,  had  not  tliirt  diviKion 
and  the  Freneh  infantry  taken  part  in  it.  It  wan  at. 
liiirt  rtiefje  that  the  Knu:linh,  ha\  iiii;  niaile  a  sortie,  took  a 
redoiilit,  and  ♦indiiiu;  the  Spaniards  all  husily  en^iij;ed 
in  takin<;  their  sit'sta,  drove  them  out  l».v  Itelahtrrini; 
tluMU  in  the  lielly  with  the  liutts  of  their  muskets,  and 
hy  kieks  l)ehind,  pretendinif  (and  perhaps  justly)  that 
they  wt're  not  worth  killinj;,  and  nuide  piisoner  ot 
only  one  sintfle  man.  a  Freneh  gunner,  who  eseaped 
from  them  on  the  way.^ 

At  rtix  the  fleet  entered  the  jiass  of  (^apo  Francjois  ; 
the  eonvoy  was  already  at  anchor,  and  as  tlie  coast 
pilots  preferred  jfoinj;  on  merclumtmen,  we  did  with- 
out ;  and  in  «'onse(pience  three  or  four  vessels  could 
not  <fvt  in  till  next  day  hy  the  sea  l»ree/.e  ;  for  in  this 
island,  as  in  all  the  Antilhs, a  periodical  wind  prevails, 
called  the  land  hreezcand  seahree/.e;  the  latter  hegins 

■  Tlic  Cuuni  liu  Mnitz  cl(>  Qoiiiipy  liatl  ouiiiiimndcil  iIiIh  vchhcI  in  Iho 
notion  with  Uodiioy  in  May,  I'Wtl.  and  alter  tlio  doge  of  tlio  war,  wan 
made  ciiimiiodore  Aii(?UHt  2(1,  17H1, 

I  Farniar'M  jonrnal  of  the  reniarltablo  ilcfrnou  of  I'ennacola  by  ("ol. 
Canipliell,  will  lie  (bund  in  the  llmliirirnl  Mmjdzinf.  vol.  iv..  p.  lliCi. 


^.A '-^iiif-'rfTf  '-•"''ffrnihti^- 


UNDKR   TIIK    rOUNT    I>E  ORASSK. 


67 


nt  H,  A.  M.,  hikI  lastK  till  <\  P.  M.,  thou  tho  land  broozo 
tollowrt  ill  I  lie  Hiiiiu*  way.  Tlioro  are  HoanoiiH  when 
tlii'y  fliaiigc  as  iniicli  iw  two  or  throe  ti'viCH  a  day,  ron- 
doriii^  tho  pasHii^o  vory  daiiijoroiiH. 

At  tho  ontraiioo  of  tho  roadstoud  of  tho  capo  in  n 
Hiiiall  foi't,  thrown  up  rather  for  tlio  sako  of  IooIch  than 
art  a  dofonoo.  Ovor  a<;aiiist  it  aro  tho  CarpontorH 
rookrt  ovor  whioh  you  must  paHs.  Thoro  aro  two  cluui- 
iioIh,  hoth  daii<?oroiirt  ;  and  vontii^oH  of  Hoveral  wrcoked 
voHHolrt  may  bo  hoou  thoro.  Tho  nrndstead  18  voiy 
oxtonnivo,  lyiiijif  boforo  tho  royal  battory  oflJOpic.os 
ofordnanco,  whioh  would  not  amount  to  muoh,  I 
opiiio,  if  tho  town  woro  attaokod.  I  have  Hoon  four 
hundrod  vossols  anchorod  in  tho  ittadstoad,  ami  )u  ;  '■ 
wart  rttill  room  for  tifty  moro.  Tho  town  in  bohiiul  tho 
royal  battory.  On  tho  othor  wido  m  tho  plain  in  whioli 
you  find  tho  towiiH  of  Limonado  and  Marmclado.  This 
plain  is  boautifiil.  At  the  head  of  tho  bay  in  a  rivor, 
oartily  ascoadod  in  rtiuall  boatn  and  even  in  long  boatrt, 
in  which  wo  have  tran«portod  our  rtiok  and  wounded 
to  a  tiiio  hortpital,  kept  l)y  the  IIoHpitallors  of  St.  Jcdin 
of  God.  It  irt  the  best  in  tho  Wortt  Indiort.  It  waw 
forinorly  the  oountry  house  of  tho  Jortuitrt,  whose  ro- 
i-idonco  irt  now  the  government  hoi'-^  • 

Tho  town  of  Capo  FniiK^'oirt  passes  for  being  tho 
most  agreeable  in  the  West  Indies,  and  justly.  It  is 
tho  Paris  of  the  isles.  7VII  go  thoro  to  know  tho  fash- 
ions. It  is.  too,  tlio  handsomest,  and  iie.vt  to  Havana 
the  richest.  For  its  size  and  commerco  it  may  bo  eom- 
8 


58 


OPERATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


pared  to  Lyons,  Its  streets  are  always  full  of  negroes, 
rolling  "  et  boneault  de  suerc  et  quart  de  cafe."  Cap 
Francois  is  regularly  built ;  all  the  streets  are  straight; 
the  houses  are  low,  not  over  two  stories,  built  of  beau- 
tiful stone,  in  spite  of  the  earth(|uakos,  which,  in  fact. 


are 


1( 


th 


but. 


>r  so  conunon 
tion.  Port  au  Prince,  on  the  other  side  of  the  island, 
is  constantly  subjected  to  them. 

The  town  is  backed  i)y  high  mountains,  which  ;  cn- 
dcr  its  position  very  hot  and  unhealthy.  Its  wide 
streets  arc  always  tilled  with  throngs  of  people,  often 
disturl)ed  by  the  equi[>ages.  There  are  many  pretty 
tine  places,  but  few  remarkable  buildings.  The  gov- 
ernment house  is  handsome  ;  the  church  i)retty  tine  ; 
the  theatre  ugly.  There  is  a  convent  of  nuns  that 
does  not  look  ill.  This  is,  1  believe,  all  worth  men- 
tioning. 

The  French  part  of  St.  Pomingo  is  intersected  by 
great  roiuls,  which  are  always  tilled  with  conveyances, 
horses  and  negroes,  the  oidy  i)cdestrians  of  the  place. 
The  luxury  is  extraordinary,  so  much  so  that  tiieri'  are 
more  than  fifty  planters  who  spend  over  six  or  seven 
thousand  francs  on  mulatto  girls.  They  have  come  to 
the  wonderi'ul  conclusion  that  morality  is  impossible 
in  this  climate,  where  all  conspires  to  destroy  i^  The 
soil  of  St.  Domingo  is  cxcellcMt,  and  it  is  citi'd  as  the 
best  in  the  AVest  Indies  ;  and  it  is  not  so  exhausted  as 
on  the  other  islands.  It  is  even  pretended  that  its 
jiroduce  exceeds  that  of  .famaica,  though  belonging  to 


^.^l. 


UNDER   THE  COUNT  DE  GUASSE. 


GO 


the  Eiiglirih,  who  are,  hoyoiul  a  ch)ul)t,  tho  l)OHt  culti- 
vators of  this  torrid  region,  and  most  expex't  iu  turning 
it  to  account. 


CoiiHii  Jura- 
tion of  Hie 
Intrepidc. 


Nothuig  mcniorahle  or  intercnting  occurred  till  tins 
23d,  a  sad  day  by  our  loss  upon  it.  It  in 
tlie  custom  on  French  vessels  in  Aniericii 
to  give  the  crew  brandy  or  talia  at  (Uie 
meal,  and  wine  at  the  two  others.  The  strong  licfuor 
is  given  always  at  breakfast.  At  half  past  seven,  the 
Intrepidc,  of  74  guns,  made  a  signal  of  distress,  and  no 
one  coidd  inuigine  what  tlie  matter  was  ;  for  like  her 
neighbor,  the  Hector,  she  had  many  meclmnic,;.  All 
supposed  that  some  trouble  had  broken  out  between  tho 
erew  and  the  people  on  board  the  two  vessels,  the 
more  especially  as  one  was  from  ]irest,  the  other  from 
Toulon  —  there  existing  between  the  otHeers  of  these 
de[>artments  a  hatred  that  extends  to  all  that  come 
from  there.  At  eight  o'clock  wc  learn«'d  that  the  Jnlri:- 
pli/c  was  on  fire.  The  clerk  had  gone  for  tafia  (a  li- 
quor more  spiritous  tiian  brandy),  and  seeing  that 
little  c.  ue  out,  ho  held  the  light  near  the  tap  and  the 
flame  at  once  extended  to  the  barrel.  lie  tried  to  put 
it  out  alone,  but  failing,  called  his  men,  who  nuuh' 
fruitless  efforts  to  extinguish  the  fire.  A  thick  smoke 
whicli  spread  over  the  vessel  disclosed  what  they  wished 
to  hide.  When  the  officers  first  tried  to  remedy  it, 
they  found  the  caboose  on  fire.  Thi'y  cut  the  cable 
to  run  the  ship  ashore  away  from  the  others.  This 
was  ha[ipily  effected.    Much  powder  was  thrown  over- 


GO 


Ol'KKATJONS   OF    THE    FKtNCll    FLEKT 


board,  and  all  the  rest  in  tiie  luagaziiie  was  soakod. 
The  gun  carriages  wore  broken  so  as  to  point  the  can- 
nons up.  All  the  boats  of  the  ileot  aiul  niercliantnien, 
and  all  the  carpenters  were  at  work  there,  lu'l[ting  all 
they  could,  to  save  the  king's  property  and  individual 
ettects.  They  were  even  in  great  apparent  security, 
each  busy  with  his  work,  when  a  voice  exclaimed  : 
"  iSauvc  qui  jK'Ht!"  Then  every  one  rushetl  to  the  boats, 
and  soon  after  a  dense  black  smoke  issued  from  the 
vast  nnichinc,  so  dense  as  to  darken  the  air — the  sun 
disappeared  from  us — we  could  only  see  the  tlames 
bursting  froii  the  portholes.  The  camions  grew  red, 
and  the  roailstead,  the  town,  and  tiie  shore,  received 
her  whole  broadside.  A  fearful  noise  succeeded  the 
artillery,  it  was  tlic  stern  of  the  vessel,  which  was  in 
the  clouds,  scattered  in  fragments.  All  around  was 
tilled  with  tliem,  wounding  many  and  killing  some. 
Thus,  at  half  [last  eleven,  ended  the  Intnpkk.  The 
towuspeoiilc  tied,  and  the  consternation  was  .-i  cicat 
that  many  would  not  go  home  for  a  long  time,  ima- 
gining that  the  contiagration  must  extend  to  other 
vessels. 

The  25th  we  learned  that  the  French  frigate  the  Jn- 
coz/A'toJi^t,  of  40  guns,  had  the  misfortune  to  be  burnt 
at  sea.  She  took  tire  in  preciselv  the  saine  wav  as  the 
Inlrci)kU\  and  blew  uj)  two  leagues  otf  the  coast  of 
iSt.  I>oiningo  A  midshipman,  two  auxiliary  otticers, 
and  seventy-seven  men   escaiied  on    loose  masts  and 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


01 


August. 


Hpar« ;  Imt  the  rest  of  the   officers  and  two  huudrecl 
and  eight  men  perished. 

Tlie  30th,  order  to  hold  ourselves  in  readiness  to 
sail,  and  to  ship  cannons,  mortars,  and  all  necessary 
to  make  a  regular  siege.  The  same  day  we  took  on 
hoard  our  vessel  the  regiments  ot'Gatinon,  now  Royal 
Auvergne,  Agenois,  Touraine,  and  a  detachment  of 
Lauzun's  legion. 

August  5th,  all  being  ready,  the  signal  was  given 
to  unmoor,  and  on  the  6th,  at  4,  A.  M.,  to  loose 
sail.  Our  fleet  nunil)ered  24  vessels,  and  the  wonder 
is  that  everybody,  the  English  included,  knew  where 
we  were  going,  while  we  had  not  even  a  conjecture 
as  to  the  operation  that  our  admiral  was  about  to 
undertake' 

On  the  7th  the  commander,  de  Glandevese,  who  had 
sailed  around  the  island  to  leewanl,  joined  us  with  the 
Dourgoiinc  and  the  Hector,  which  had  been  unable  to 
set  sail  the  day  previous.  The  Actionnaire,  which  lu^d 
come  with  the  commander's  live  vessels,  anchored  on 
the  8th  at  the  ca[>c. 

On  the  10th  the  light  s(juadron  gave  chase  to  the 
English  frigate  which  had  chased  the  Fee  and  forced 
her  to  put  in  at  the  Mole  St.  Xicolas,  after  she  had 
fought  three  times;  first  with  a  frigate,  w'hich  she 
sunk;  next  with  a  50  gun  vessel,  which  she  cut  up 
considerably  by  a  nuuujeuvre  which  excited  the  admi- 


•  The  secret  liiid  bceti  woll  kopl,  for  a  mouth  before  tlie  Count  de 
Onisse  wrote  to  Uot'liiiiiibeiiu. 


62 


Ol'EKATIONS  OP  THE   FKENCII   FLEET 


[i 


ifi 


ration  of  the  cneiuv.  Slio  wua  tlioii  (.'ommaiulod  by 
M.  do  Boul)e(.',  ensign',  the  captain  having  been  killed 
in  the  tirst  engagement.  In  the  neeond  action  she 
loot  her  forenuist.  Ilor  last  att'air  was  with  the  frigate 
of  which  I  have  Just  spoken,  and  which  she  would 
have  taken,  for  all  her  crippled  ct»ndition,  had  not  the 
adversary's  Hight  and  sujierior  sailing  saved  her.  AVe 
learned  that  this  young  ofKcer  received  general  ap- 
plause on  his  arrival  at  Cap  Franyois,  having  been 
crowned  by  a  young  and  ehanning  actresw,  who  was 
the  idol  of  that  town,  who  then  embraced  him  on  the 


stasre  amid  the  acclamations  of  tl 


w  spectator; 


lit 


certainly  deserved  all  the  praise  'le  received  in  this 
country.  He  had  the  pleasure  of  attaining  the  com- 
mand "f  his  frigate,  which  he  took  back  to  Brest, 
where  he  obtained  another  ship  on  which  he  sailed  to 
India,  by  his  own  re([Uest.  There  he  again  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  last  affair  of  the  Hailly  de  Suf- 
fren,  the  French  commander  in  that  part  of  the  world. 
Oj»  the  11th  we  entered  the  old  channel  and  took  in 
a  Spanish  coast  jdlot  coming  from  Baracao,  a  town 
lying  on  the  northern  coast  of  the  island  of  Cuba. 
The  passage  of  tliis  channel  is  justlv  considered  a  very 
dangerous  spot.  We  were  so  happy  as  to  spend  three 
days  in  the  narrowest  part  of  the  jiass,  which  is  sur- 
rounded by  reefs  on  every  side,  experiencing  an  un- 
supportaldu  contrariety  of  wintls.     At   length,  on  the 


'  In  the  Krcncli  nnvy  thu  cniiigii  rankn  next  to  tlic  licutuiiuiii. 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


0? 


14tli,  a  very  Htronaj  wind  spvans;  up,  and  wo  donl»led 
the  rocks,  it'tor  siift'oriiin:  consid('ral)lv.  Tlio  JSortImm- 
hcrland  was  almost  lost,  haviui^  got  into  the  breakers 
very  near  the  reefs,  and  being  almost  ungovernable 
through  the  fault  of  a  helmsman,  who  gave  the  wheel 
a  wrong  turn. 

At  this  period  we  flattered  ourselves  that  we  should 
behold  the  superb  city  of  Havana,  the  capital  of  the 
island  of  Cuba,  and  the  richest  and  strongest  place  in 
America ;  the  Spaniards  having  added  considerably  to 
its  fortifications  since  the  last  war.  The  Ahjrdle  alone 
went  there,  and  brought  off  four  nullions,  Avhich  served 
as  an  excuse  for  the  seventeen  men  of  war  there,  not 
to  accompany  us  on  the  expedition  we  had  on  hand. 
Is  it  not  a  shame  for  these  vessels  to  lie  rotting 
two  years  in  port?  It  is  only  a  nation  as  cowardly  as 
the  Spaniard  that  can  wallow  so  in  inaction,  leaving 
its  allies  to  bear  all  the  brunt  of  the  war. 

On  the  18th  we  lay  to  off  A[atanzas,  three  leagues 
from  that  town,  and  about  thirty  from  Havana.  We 
sent  our  pilots  ashore,  and  entered  the  Bahama  chan- 
nel, into  which  the  currents  carried  us.  At  this  point, 
being  in  order,  we  learned  tliat  the  projected  expe- 
dition was  to  the  ('hesa[)eakc.  Here  the  charming 
maritime  ill-temper  displayed  itself  in  all  \\~  beauty, 
for  they  cli>-cd  tlie  council-cluunbcr  door  on  the  gen- 
llomcnofthe  Uoyal  Auvergne,  commanded  by  Mr. 
de  Tourville,  who  could  not  hcl[)  taking  up  the  silly 
remarks  they  passed  »  ii  the  Count  (V'^staing. 


11 


G4 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH  FLEET 


M  I 


On  the  24th  we  took  three  English  vessels ;  one  of 
nhioh,  connnanded  by  u  licuteimnt  in  the  navy,  i'uv- 
riod  It)  six-pounders  avi  I  8  eighteen-pound  howitzers. 
She  had  on  boai'l  four  officers  and  several  \oung  wd- 
men,  who,  on  passing  ink)  our  ha.'ds,  were  greatly  re- 
joicid  at  their  adversity,  i!iid  said  t'l.il  die  Fremh even 
on  the  sea  were  better  than  their  count  rynien.  There 
is  one  style  in  which  they  surel}-  wouhl  not  provft  it  — 
being  very  knowing.  I  w<  uld  wiHln^'ly  rel,\  on 
their  jr.diiment,  st  Tar  as  tlieir  experiem-e  g*  '  s.  The 
-nitt'.l  r  I'i  the  otlur  two  was  carrying  to  Euglund  a 
general  oiHc?!  \.lio  had  c<»rnnuuided  at  Savannah  and 
^'hal•le8t')l^  •> '  icii  lie  had  left  a  week  before,  and  who 
enjoyvd  tlj'  liigliest  reputation.  All  these  vessels, 
at)(!  tluise  ruibsequently  taken  oft"  this  coast,  were 
loaded  with  nierchandise  for  Euro[)e. 

1  cannot  omit  an  incident  which  proves  the  bad 
faith  with  which  the  English  are  so  justly  reproached, 
an  incident  which  they  have  often  repeated.  In  the 
evening,  not  having  had  time  to  man  the  prizes  en- 
tindy,  the  enerny,  to  the  number  of  sixty  men,  left  in 
the  larger  vessel,  found  means  during  the  night  to 
open  the  roblnet  (a  kind  of  port  hole  near  the  keel, 
used  lo  let  in  water  or  to  sink  a  vessel  A\hen  she  gets 


'  Lord  Hawdon,  rotiriiig  to  Englaiul  in  iH  licaltu,  after  his  barbarous 
and  uiijuKtifiublc  cxcciition  of  Ilaiiu's.  He  had  now  the  mortification 
lo  wiincsH,  as  a  prisoner,  the  defeat  of  Oornwaliis  on  hind  and  Ciruves 
on  ilie  ocean. 


UNDEK   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


05 


ou  fire,  as  Mr.  dii  PlessiH  PaHcault  winhotl  to  do  at  tlio 
cape  when  the  Iiitrepkle  caught  fire).  Fortunately 
this  trick  was  discovered,  aud  it  was  closed  in  time  to 
prevent  ahnost  all  damage.  Had  there  hecn  any  do- 
lay  in  making  the  rounds,  tlie  vessel  would  to  a  cer- 
tainty ha\  e  gone  down. 

On  the  28th  the  ileet  anchored  three  leagues  from 
the  roadstead  of  the  Chesapeake,  according  to  the  ad- 
vice of  the  coast  pilots  whom  we  had  on  hoard.  We 
had  not  yet  seen  any  hind,  which  liere  lies  ver}'  low. 

On  the  20th  we  anchored  in  three  columns,  in  the 
entrance  of  the  roadstead,  '  after  chasing  a  numher  of 
vessels  that  we  could  not  nuike  out.  You  will  not 
lierhaps  be  astonished  to  learn  in  what  security'  the 
English  live.  Having  ancliored  and  disi»layed  our 
flag,  we  were  approached  l)y  a  boat  in  which  was  one 
of  the  principal  citizens  of  Virginia,  who  asked  where 
Lord  Rodney  was.  The  sailors  on  deck  hailed,  and 
one  of  them,  who  spoke  English  well,  told  them  to 
come  on  board,  which  they  did  at  once.  But  what 
was  their  surprise  to  see  only  infantry  in  white  uni- 
forms. They  were  taken  to  the  main  cabin,  where 
we  were  at  dinner,  and  where  the  captain  informed 
them  tiiat  they  were  i>risoners,  ordering  them  to  be 
well  treati'd.  The  boat  was  taken,  and  found  to  con- 
tain excellent  melons  and  many  other  refreshments, 
which  were  eaten  in  honor  of  Lord  Rodnev. 


In  T.yiiii  I'avi.ii  Bay. 


9 


i;i> 


nPKHATIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH  FLEET 


Si'|»tonil)cr  iHt,  our  troops'  got  in  ItoatH  mid 
Si'plcmlior.        '  1       & 

wuro  laiuU'd  witliout  the  Hliglitost  molcnta- 
tloii  IVoiii  tilt!  torccH  coiniioHiiij;  the  army  of  Lord 
('onivvalliw,  altlioiigli  lie  had  a  ship  of  the  line,  throe 
IVi;;ateM,  and  Hoveral  Hinall  vesKelK.  The  Eiiijflish  gen- 
eral ini^ht  have  jireventcd  us  from  doing  anything, 
and  even  repidsed  us,  had  he  not  despised  our  small 
army.  At  our  first  I'lieampment  it  would  have  been 
aiihihiiat('(|  if  attacked.  Three  days  after,  it  formed 
a  junction  with  the  army  of  M.  de  la  Fayette,-  1,800 
strong,  hut  wlio,  at  the  same  time,  received  a  rein- 
forccmeiit  of  1,K00  more  Americans,  making  in  all 
7,()(»(».  The  Knglish  nunihered  11,000  men.  AVlien 
told  that  the  French  had  landed,  their  general  merely 
remarked  that  he  had  been  long  expecting  them,  and 
was  glad  that  they  had  come.  For  all  that,  he  soon 
had  reason  to  repent  it. 

That  same  day  I  almost  perished  in  attempting  to 
go  ashore.  The  boat,  that  I  was  in,  cajisized,  but, 
fdrtiinateiy,  the  bar  we  struck  on  touched  the  land, 
and   had   scarcelv  four  feet  of  water  on   it.     T  found 


'  TIiIh  body  uniiNlfilccl  of  iJ,80()  men,  under  the  Marquis  de  St.  Simon, 
will!  wcro  (Miiivcyi'd  cijjlilecn  Icngut'H  up  James  river  by  the  boats  of 
tliu  flci'l,  niiitnKiil  by  1,0110  siiilors.  Cornwallls  mentions,  in  liis  ile- 
ipriloh  to  Clinton,  the  number  of  boats  ns  forty,  and  of  troops  as 
!I,H(MI  men.  After  landing  these  the  boats  transported  Wayne's  com- 
nuind. 

>  liy  (hiii,)uiielion,  liufaycttc,  at  tlicagc  of  24,  in  his  qualiiy  of  major- 
gunurul  of  the  Anierican  army,  had  under  bis  command  a  French 
goneritl  olllcer,  the  Mar(|uis  ilo  St.  Simon. 


,.,A-...vi;.io..>.. 


\  ■ 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


67 


I 


tliirt  a  nm<;nificc'nt  country,  with  fine  woods,  houses  at 
intervals,  witli  little  plains  around ;  pasturages  covered 
with  ininiense  lierds  of  cattle  of  every  kind ;  large 
river  prodigiously  full  of  tish.  I  put  up  at  the  house  of 
the  cai>taiu  of  an  American  frigate,  who  showed  nie 
every  cordiality,  and  was  kind  enough  to  give  our 
steward  directions  liow  to  buy  the  stores  which  he 
know  our  vessel  must  he  in  need  of.  In  the  evening 
I  took  my  boat  again  to  go  aboard,  but  the  tide  and 
the  currents  were  so  violent  that  I  was  forced  to  anchor 
between  the  land  and  the  fleet,  about  a  league  trom 
each. 

The  2d,  the  Aijrettc  arrived  from  the  head  of  the  bay 
with  several  prizes  made  by  our  different  vessels, 
among  others  by  the  Glorieux,  which  gave  chase  to 
the  Charon,  of  50  guns,  but  could  not  get  at  lier  on 
account  of  the  shoals,  and  wlii^^h  was  burnt  during 
the  siege  of  Yorktown. 

The  3d,  four  of  our  vessels  were  detacliod,  ami  sta- 
tioned at  the  mouths  of  the  rivers,  by  which  we  took 
a  considerable  nund)er  of  merchantmen.  We  were  in 
the  greatest  impatience  in  consequence  of  the  non- 
arrival  of  the  Concorde,  a  frigate  of  M.  du  Barras'  '- 


'  Louis,  Count  do  Barrns  St.  Lnurent,  boru  iu  Provence,  had  served 
long  in  the  French  navy,  l)Ut  his  chief  services  were  those  in  Auiericn. 
He  w:is  a  particular  friend  of  tlie  fount  d'Estaing,  and  commanded  L 
vanguiird  when  he  forced  the  entrance  of  Newport.  Ho  reached  Bos- 
ton in  ymy,  1781,  in  the  Conenrdr,  having  been  appointed  to  com- 
mand the  French  squadron  there.  He  was  then  about  60  years  old. 
Washington  at  o^""  proposed  an  interview  with  him  and  Kochambeau 


■•>■' 


68 


OI'KKATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


m 


squiulroii,  whk'li  v;>'  tu  jriiicuiu'e  to  un  tlir  iiu)iiu  iif 
ot'tlie  juiictioi)  I)'  I'n.  ■  wo  did  not  know  vvlmt  to 
niiike  of  tlu'  d>Auy  ;  and  Honie  of  the  navy  ofHcors,  jeal- 
ous of  hirt  111  rit,  accused  him  of  being  a  bad  citizen, 
and  of  being  unwiliini;;  to  servo  under  \[.  do  ClraHse, 
becauHo  he  liad,  he  said,  his  option  to  reniaiii  at  Bos- 
ton or  join  him.  Ah-eady  th.  ^  vvmiiea  to  m.ii.e  him 
responsible  for  the  bhniders  the  admiral  was  to  com- 
mit. In  these  circumstancoH  M.  de  liurras  will  be 
H"  n  giving  a  rare  example  of  patriotism,  which  is  un- 
fortunately known  oidy  by  name  in  France.  Wo 
were  in  the  greatest  uneertainty  as  to  what  was  to 
happen,  when  our  two  frigates  on  guard  outside  sig- 


Rt  Welherstleht,  uii  Ibe  l!2d  of  May,  but  an  Arbuthnot  appeared,  the 
(.'omit  lie  lliiriiis  preferred  not  to  be  abgpnt.  He,  however,  through 
Itocliambeitu,  objected  to  Iriinxportinx  the  French  army  to  the  Chesa- 
peake on  liis  )(i|Uailron,  and  subHciiuently  declined  (o  proceed  to  that 
bay  witli  his  vesselft  to  prevent  the  enriipe  of  <'ornwalli8,  and  nhowed 
a  reluclnncc  to  xervc  underdo  (iraHne,  hix  junior,  propoHing  an  expe- 
dition 1)  Newfuinidland.  This,  Washington  at  hist  induced  him  to 
abandon  and  cooperate  in  the  general  niovenier  He,  however,  pro- 
jected an  attack  on  the  tory  fort  on  Lloyd's  neck,  in  July,  which  was 
a  complete  failure.  He  finally  joined  de  (irasHe,  and  niatiri'illy  aidcil 
in  the  reduction  of  Vorktown.  From  lliis,  it  will  be  seen  that  his  yield- 
ing to  serve  under  dc  (liiissic  was  far  fron^  the  noble  sacrifice  of  feel- 
ing so  often  prete.  I'-'i.  A  \vn  in  parti'  of  d'Kstaiii^c,  he  was  re- 
luctant to  eontributt  in  any  way  to  the  -  vccss  of  his  rival,  and  dis- 
played a  spirit  of  contrariety  by  no  nieau.s  exulting.  After  coUperui- 
iug  with  de  Orasse  at  the  siege  of  Yorklown,  he  also  took  part  in  the 
engagement -vith  llo  '.,  oli  St.  Christoph"  r,  on  the  L'o-'  January. 
I'S'J  :  but  after  reducing  Nevis  and  Monscrrat,  returned  to  France. 
He  had  considered  de  Urasse's  promotion  to  the  command  of  theflici, 
and  the  rank  of  lieutenant -general,  as  a  sli,. '  upon  him.  In  the  re- 
organization of  the  navy  in  1782,  h<'  '  \s  mmie  vice-ado'iral. 


k.w 


UNDKU   TIIK   COUNT    I)K  GUASSK. 


O'J 


iiallt'd  nails  in  si^lit.  Theno  ho(»ii  jd'oved  fo  ha  Kii^- 
IImIi,  to  the  iiiiiiibi'r  of  "21  iiii'ii  of  will",  two  of  thuiii 
tlircu  (k'ckcrn,  and  tive  fri^^att'H.  Ah  a  coin'Dat  Wan 
(leoiiiod  ci'rtuiu,  orderM  were  givt'ii  to  hoint  nail. 

At  lialf-paHt  eleven,  ordern  were  given  to  hUji  our 
caltlert,  and  leaven  the  buoy ;  at  noon,  to  elear  di-ekn 
and  to  form  in  order  of  Hpeed.     Thin,  for  a  \von<ler, 
WWK  pretty  well  executed,  for  every  veHHel  had  a  hun- 
dred men  in  the  hoatn,  which  had,  as  1  have  said,  been 
landing  our  troops.     The  fleet  formed  in  very  bad 
order;  for,  to  t(   '  the  truth,  there  were  only  four  ves- 
HeJH  in  line,  the  Pfjilo,  the  Boanjoyne,  the  MavsviUais, 
and  the  Diadeinc.     The  lit'Jh'r/ii/  and  the  Cofoii  came 
next,  half  a  league  to  the  lee  of  the  first ;  and  the  rest 
of  the  tlett  a  league  more  to  the  lee  of  the  latter,  the 
ViKc  (Ic  Paris  in  the  centre ;  the  Knglish  were  in  tlie 
beat  possible  order,  bows[»rit  to  stern,  bearing  down 
on  us,   and  consequently  to  our  \vin<lward.     Admiral 
(1  raves  commanded,'  having  undt-r  him  rear-admirals 
Hood  and  Drake  ;  they  madi  an  immense  nund)er  of 
signals  to  each  other  before  engaging  us.     The  Eng- 
lish  vessel,    the    Terrible,  which    was   immping   four 
pumps,  not  feeling  in  u  condition  to  take  part  in  the 
action,   kept  to  the  windwap'   of  the  enemy's  line, 

'draves  commanded  the  Sheernriti  in  1757;  in  1761t,  uuii  iiiutidiiig 
tlie  Duke,  W),  he  blockaded  Brest.  In  1781  ho  wns  in  I1k»  l.omtou,  98. 
IIIh  cngngcmeni  with  de  Orassc  is  hero  recorded.  Duriri);  t!ii«  Fronch 
revolution  he  servr  I  mulcr  Hone  lU  Ouessanl,  May  ">,  l"'.t4,  and  wftH 
wounded  soon  nl'ier  in  the  Kv  nl  Sovereign,  He  was  created  a  poor  in 
Jill,.',  17114. 


70 


OI'KRATIO.VS   or   TIIK    KKKNCII    KI.KKT 


iitliwiii't  l>mki',  who  Migiiiillod  Iut  to  tiikf  Iut  poHitioii, 
which  whi'  h)rtt  nomo  tlnu'  in  (hdiijf ;  hut  tho  reur- 
iuiiuiml  Kooii  {KTHiimlotl  h'r  t<»  tiikc  her  iiliico  by  hoihI- 
iiij;  lu'P  thri'o  funuon  halln.  Tlieii  it  wiiw  that  thoy 
tackod  to  tlio  hirhoard  un  wo  did,'  and  hoiwti'd  a  groat 
white  tiag  astoni ;  l)iit  thoy  soon  Htriick  it  and  iioistod 
their  own.  It  was  tlion  tivo  iiiinutort  at'tor  throo,  and 
the  lioad  of  onr  line  was  within  ritlo  shot ;  aiwl.  in 
t'uct,  entirely  separated  from  the  rest  of  onr  fleet  ;  u 
disagreeahh'  position.  Tlien  they  poured  tlieir  tirst 
hroadside  into  the  lirffMnf,  kilhiig  the  eaptain.''  That 
vessel  soon  liore  away,  as  well  as  tin-  Cnli),  on  whieli 
they  kept  np  a  hrisk  tire.  Then  .Mr.  de  (Jrasse  sig- 
nalh'd  to  the  vessels,  at  the  head  of  the  line,  to  hoar 
away  two  points,  wliieh  was  iinpraetieahlo,  as  thoy  wore 

■  Tlio  KiikIIhIi  torniol  till' liiiu  on  llio  HUrlxiitnl  titek,  tlio  Kronuli 
Miood  otf  Mlioro  on  tlio  liirlioiird  luck  ;  but  n*  Driiko,  who  wiih  in  llio 
rciir,  WHS  Hignnllod  to  hciir  down,  tin'  wlmlc  llrilinli  lli'ot  wore  on  llio 
larbonril  tftfk.  Tlio  Into  I'nptnin  Wiird,  in  liin  Xninl  Tnrlirt,  xnyn  : 
"  .\dmirnl  (IrnvcH  tiorc  <lown  and  atinckvd  the  French  fleot  by  nn  ub- 
lii|UO  n|i|iroiich  in  column  aliend,  but  in  a  niiinncr  which  cngii|{ed  the 
whole  KiigliHli  line  —  the  renr  very  di.'ilitiilly,  tliough  expoxiii);  the 
head  uf  it  niimt  to  the  cnciiiy'H  Arc.  Ileiico  the  Krench,  liiiving  intlicted 
fur  more  injury  than  tlioy  received,  wore  niuiiil  out  of  action,  and  re- 
formed to  leeward,  for  the  lurpose  of  again  receiving  the  attack.  The 
Knglinh  were  not  in  condition  to  repeal  it.  The  Kngli.th  van  hIiIiim  on 
the  approach,  when  only  their  how  giuiM  bore,  were  expoxed  to  a  ne- 
vcre  iliagonal  firo  from  the  broadHides  of  the  French  vanshipM,  a»  will 
appear  by  ingpection  of  the  Hgure,  and  this  iliagonal  lire  in  nearly  hh 
dexlrnclive  as  a  raking  fire." 

'The  captain,  killed  in  this  action,  according  to  Qut-rin,  llistnire  <U 
III  Miinm  h'riin<;(iitf,  and  the  (Inzfll'-  ile  Fraiicr,  was  Hrun  do  lloade, 
though  our  author,  when  he  first  mentions  the  Ufjl^fhij  makes  de  Mar- 
igny  captain  of  the  Rrflfrh;/ ;  de  Ibiado  coinniandod  the  Triloii,  (!4,  in 
1 7K(). 


UNUKIl   TIIK   COUNT    l)K  GKA.SSE. 


71 


fij^litliif;  within  ^iin-Hliot  diHtancc,  iind  woiiM  Imvojijuta 
vi'ry  Hi!V((ri!  ImiKHiti^,  luul  tlu'y  itrcHonti'tl  the  MtiTii. 
The  tour  nhipM  iit  the  van  toiiiHl  thi-niHolvoH,  couki'- 
(liu'utly,  ciitiri'ly  cut  otl'tVom  the  ront  of  thi'  tii'c^t,  mid 
(•ouHtuntly  (•n<jjii,i;('d  with  mcvoii  or  oif^ht  vohhoIk  lit  «'Ioh(' 
([uartcrH;  and  tiic  Uiadiine  wuHconHtantly  nour  A(hniral 
Drake,'  who  not  fire  to  lier  at  every  Hliot,  the  wadding 
entorinj;^  her  Hi(h'.  Thin  veHHol  wa«  eoiintantly  enpiged 
witli  two  and  Hoinetiniert  three  venHeln.  The  Kn;^- 
lisii  would  not  eut  off  our  van,  whieli  tliey  nii^lit 
perluipH  iiuve  taken,  and  wliich  tlicv  wouhl,  at  all 
eventrt,  have  rendered  pant  repair.  Tliey  contented 
theuiHelves  Kiniply  witli  cutting  up  that  part  of  our 
Heet  which  kept  up  a  distant  tijLrht,  the  wailorn  of  tlio 
V'dle  dc  J'tiris  havins;  heen  the  lant  to  take  part  in  the 
action.  Mr.  de  l5ou!ji;ainville  eoininan(U'd  our  van ; 
but  ho  wan  too  far  to  leeward  and  in  no  condition  to 
relieve  the  JJiadanv,  whicli  could  scarcely  hold  out, 
antl  was  on  the  point  of  boarding  of  the  Priiicestif, 
cointnanded  by  the  rear-adu'iral,  wlio  avoided  her; 
then  he  turned  all  his  tire  on  the  Tcrrihle,  which  he 
ri(Ulled,  so  tliat  tlie  English  liad  to  sink  her  next  day. 
With  all  this,  this  vessel  was  utterly  unable  to  keep 
ii[»  the  light,  having  only  four  thirty-six  ])Ounders  and 
nine  eighteens,  lit  for  use,  and  luiving  all  on  board 

1  Sir  Franuiti  Drake  cuimuiindcJ  ILe  Kdyar  in  17r>'J;  was  renr  admi- 
ral at.  (iibraltar  in  April,  17S1  ;  with  Graves  at  the  ('iiesopcakc  and 
with  Iluod  and  Uuduey  in  the  West  IiidieM,  as  described  in  these 
journals. 


■i      IJ 


OPERATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH    FLEET 


i 


I   1 


^1   i 


killed,  wouiidod  or  burnt.  At  tliirt  juncture  M.  de 
('hal)ort,  conniiaudiut;  the  St.  Etijml,  which  had,  for 
a  long  time,  been  engaged  with  the  English  admiral, 
and  who  was  himself  wounded,  seeing  the  imntinent 
danger  of  the  Diadeiiic,  hoisted  sail  and  was  soon  in 
her  wake;  then  he  oi)ened  a  terrible  tire,  that  the 
g<'ntlemen  of  Albion  could  not  stand,  and  had  to  haul 
their  wind.  The  contest  was  kept  u]t  in  the  centre 
for  half  an  hour  longer.  For  our  part  we  v/ere  so 
tirinl,  that  though  within  gun-shot,  the  vans  no  longer 
tired.     At  (J,  the  battle  closed.' 


'  Ailmiral  Graves  says  :  "Ah  we  nppronched,  the  whole  fleet  got 
under  sail,  nnd  Btretclied  out  to  sea,  with  the  wind  at  north  noith- 
enst.  As  we  drew  nearer  I  fi>rnie(l  the  line  first  ahead,  and  then  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  liring  liis  majesty's  fleet  neiirly  parallel  to  the 
line  of  approach  of  tlic  enemy,  and  when  I  found  that  our  van  was 
advanced  as  far  as  the  shoal  of  the  middle  ground  would  admit  of,  I 
wore  the  fleet  and  brought  them  upon  tlie  same  lack  witli  tlie  enemy, 
and  nearly  parallel  to  them,  though  we  were  by  no  means  extended 
with  their  rear.  So  soon  as  I  judged  that  (uir  van  would  be  able  to 
operate,  I  made  the  signal  to  bear  away  and  approach,  and  soon  after 
to  engage  the  enemy  close.  .Somewhat  after  four  the  action  began 
among  tlie  headmost  ships,  pretty  close,  and  soon  became  general  as 
far  as  the  second  ships  from  the  centre  towards  the  rear.  The  van  of 
the  enemy  bore  away  to  enable  their  centre  to  support  them,  or  they 
w<iuld  have  been  cut  up.  The  action  did  not  entirely  cease  until  a 
little  after  sunset,  lliougli  i  t  a  considerable  distance,  for  the  centre  of 
the  enetiiy  continued  to  bear  up  as  it  advanced,  and  at  that  moment 
seemed  to  have  little  more  in  view  than  to  shelter  their  own  van  as  it 
went  away  before  the  wind.  His  noijesly's  fleet  consisted  of  nineteen 
sail  of  the  line  —  thalofihe  French  formed  twenty-four  sail  in  Ihei.' 
line.  After  night  1  sent  the  frig'tes  to  the  van  and  rear,  to  (uish  for- 
ward the  line  and  kee|>  it  extended  with  tlie  enemy,  with  the  full  in- 
tention til  renew  the  engagement  in  the  morning.  Uut  when  the  fri- 
gate F'lrliiii^'   returned  from  the  vaii,  I  was   informed  tha?  several  of 


UNDER   THE   COUNT  D.:  GRASSE. 


7:J 


In  this  atthir  wo  lost  400  men  anil  12  ottiocrH ;  tl 


»u 


ott"  with  the  Iohs  of  700  ; 


(1 


J^jiiglisii  came  oit  with  tlie  Iohs  oi  iw  iiieii, 
p'U'sons  of  dirttinctioK.  We  had  to  goto  the  aHHirttuiiCd 
of  the  Dkulcinc  inimediately  after  the  Ijattle,  m  Aw 
had  lost  120  men  and  had  no  nails  or  rig^in^,  liaviiiji^ 
received  125  balls  in  her  hull  and  12  under  the  water 
line.  We  should  have  had  to  ahandon  her,  liad  the 
sea  run  high,  and  do  with  her  as  the  English  did  with 
the  Terrible,  74.  It  is  well  to  note  that  there  were  only 
22  French  vessels  in  this  engagement,  all  hadly  manned, 
The  enemy  had  21  in  line,  one  of  ,'/'  guns,  and  some 
frigates. 

The  English  committed  a  great  fault  in  this  aetion. 
As  soon  as  we  left  the  roa<ls  of  the  Chesapeake,  they 
should  have  entered  and  anchored.  They  were  hel'ore 
the  wind,  and  by  hugging  Cape  C'haries  tlu'y  might 
easily  have  moored  with  a  spring  in  the  cidile,  before 
we  were  formed  in  line  and  ready  to  attack  them;  this 
would  leave  us  no  alternative  but  to  grapjile  them, 
otherwise  our  army  would  have  rin  a  great  risk  of 
l)eing  deprived  of  everything,  perhaps  have  been  cap- 
tured even  ;   our  vessels,  stationed  at  the  York,  jJaltl- 


(Iic  ships  lind  suffcvcil  so  nmcli,  tlicy  were  in  no  conilit'.ii  to  ri'liPW 
tlie  iictiou  uiilil  tlioy  hiul  sociire<l  tlieir  musts.  Wc,  luiwcvur,  i«i«[i|. 
well  exientlcd  wilh  tlic  enemy  all  night." 

'Graves  gives  the  loss  at  IK)  l<illeil  and  liiO  woun<leil.  The  Ist  lieu- 
tenant of  the  S/inuKliiii!/  was  killed,  Jiml  the  captain  woiimled,  Tho 
rriiicms,  Shreicsfiiin/,  liilnpiiJr  and  Minitai/uc  sulVereif  severely  in  thit 
masts  ami  tho  Ternhti'  and  .\j\ix  in  tlichuU.  On  tho  Kllli  he  says  il. 
council  of  war  determined  to  destroy  liie  Tenilile,  anil  sliu  wuh  NUt 
tire  to  on  the  1  lili. 

10 


-'-'-— <hmMMm4* 


74 


OPERATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


more  and  James  rivers,  would  Inive  been  taken,  as 
well  as  all  the  boats  of  the  tieet.  Hood  was  in  favor 
of  running  in  here  as  we  shall  see  liini  do  at  St. 
Christo]»her"s,  but  Admiral  Graves  durstnot.  Another 
blunder  that  our  enemies  made  was,  their  neglecting 
to  cut  off  our  four  vessels  at  the  head,  which  they 
might  ]K'rhai>8  liave  taken,  or  at  least  cut  ott'from  the 
rest  of  the  tieet. 

There  is  no  reproach  to  be  made  to  >fr.  do 
Grasse  in  this  atiair,  cxcejit  his  not  making  in  time 
the  signals  to  take  jiosition  in  order  of  l»attle,  and  tlie 
blunder  of  not  posting  himself  at  the  entrance  of  the 
bay  and  refusiriu:  fiirht.  He  commifted  a  ijroHser 
blunder  of  this  kind  afterwards;  for,  on  this  occasion, 
he  might  allege  the  fact  tiiat  he  was  waiting  for  Com- 
modore de  Burriis,  and  that  lie  exposed  him  ]irodi- 
giousiy  if  he  did  not  tight  and  force  thi'  enemy  to  oj)en 
the  entrance  to  the  anchorage  of  the  Chesapeake. 

On  tht^  (Itli  we  did  not  lose  sight  of  the  Knglish,  and 
the  wind  haviuir  varied  sli<;htlv,  bv  maneuverin"-  a 
great  deal,  and  the  Knglisli  little,  we  gained  the 
weather-gage. 

The  7th  we  still  kept  them  in  sight.  On  this  dav 
they  sunk  the  Tcrvihlc.  in  the  evening  we  lost  sight  of 
them;  the  sea  beginning  to  rini  high  and  the  wind  in- 
creasing,  our  admiral  made  us  steer  for  the  Chesa- 
jieakc.  \Vi'  did  not.  liowi'vei',  make  (';ipe  Henry 
till  the  11th;  and  at  the  same  tinu'  >ve  saw  two  Knglish 
frigates,    tlie     Iris    ;in<l     l{iclini<iii<l,    ciicji    of    4(t    ufuns, 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


73 


cluiHed  by  tl)o  GloricKX,  as  she  was  rotiiriiing  from  the 
river.      Tlio  Aigrette  eanie  up  witli   the  tbniier  and 
engaged  her  at  pistol  Hliot  distance  ;  but  she  had  to 
haul  off,  she  got  so  hardly  used.     Seeing  that  they 
held  out  so,  several  of  our  good  sailors  got  at  their 
heels;  the  rest  of  the  fleet  joined,  and  we  poured  in 
over  two  hundred  balls  before  they  struek.    We  nnule 
the  Count  de  Barras,  who  had  been  at  anchor  in  the 
roads  for  two  days,  start  out  two  vessels  of  his  division, 
as  he  could  not  make  out  which  nation  we  belonged  to. 
He  had  witnessed  the  attair  of  the  ^th,  but  being  una- 
ble to  distinguish  the  I'rench  fleet,  he  had  anchored 
in  the  roads  where  we  found  him.     \V"e  dropped  our 
anchors  at  six  or  seven  in  the  evening,  well  satisfled 
with  our  prizes,  and  especially  to  get  our  boats  again, 
which  Joined  us  this  day,  bringijig  back  our  best  men. 
The  15tli  tliere  c  ame  on  board  our  fleet  M.  de  Cus- 
tine,'  colonel  of  the  regiment  of  Saintonge,  command- 
ing the  van  of  Ueneral  Washington's  army,  composed 
of  a  thousand  French  grenadiers,  and  as  man}*  Ameri- 
can volunteers.     He  proceeded  to  join   M.  de  la  Fay- 
ette, and  announced  the  sp'  edy  arrival   of  the  (oni- 
bined  Jirinies  of  France  and  Amci'i'ja,   with  all  neces- 
saries of  war,  and  provisions  ;   for  our  troo]>s  sutt'ered 
for  want  of  tlie  latter. 


'  Adam  PliiUp,  Count  ''.o  rustiiie,  bora  ul  Mciz  in  1740.  lie  served 
under  Fredcriek  ilie  (Jrenl  in  ilie  Seven  Years  war.  In  17'J-  he  was 
summoned  from  tlie  cuniiiiund  of  the  army  of  the  Rliine,  to  Paris,  iiud 
beheaded  in  AngusI,  ITV'^i. 


Ill ' 


\t':*l 


70 


Ol'KHATIONS   OF   THE    FKENCIF    FLKET 


On  the  IHtli  tlie  vessels  1)eaiiiiij  our  soldiers  arrived 
Ity  Haltiiiiore  river,  and  the  ifreater  ](art  of  the  army, 
t'oastinuf  alont;;,  and  l)rin<;injr  from  J'hiladelphia  all 
that  was  needed,  and  even  more  ;  for  iilenty  always 
reigned  in  the  eamps,  altliou;Ljh  this  country  has  heeii 
eomoletelv  devastated  hv  the  Entflish.  The  Amcri- 
can  general  eanie  on  hoard  the  Vlltc  ilc  Paris,  where 
he  had  a  long  conference  with  Mr.  de  (Jrasse,  and  the 
other  two  naval  commanders. '  On  his  departure  he 
was  saluted  v'th  thirteen  guns.  He  joined  his  army, 
20,(KH)  stronii:,  including  Kochamheau's  and  Lafav- 
ette's  armies.  I  think  that  when  Lord  C'ornwallis  was 
told  <^'  Mr.  AVashington's  arrival,  he  did  T\ot  say,  "so 
much  the  hetter,"  and  must  have  laughed  on  the 
wrong  side  of  his  mouth. 

The  i(iml)ined  army  having  invested  thi'  Knglish, 
they  retired  to  Vorktown,  posting  a  large  dctach- 
UMMit  at  (iloU(  'ster,  a  town  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  and  immediatt'ly  opposite  Yo:k.  The  enemy 
had  already  put  tliese  two  places  in  a  res[K'ctahle  state 
of  defence,  and  liiur  redouts  prott'cted  the  approaches. 
They  thought  pro[>er,  however,  to  evacuate  the  suni"er 

'  "  In  coinpnny  wiili  Couni  dc  U()clmml)eaii,  tlio  ClioviiliiT  ilo  Clins- 
tellciix,  (u'licnil  Knox  and  (lenorrl  Oiiiioiliiil,  1  net  (iiil  fur  nil  inter- 
view willi  llic  ii'Iiiiiral.  nml  iirrivoil  on  ))oartl  ilio  Villi'  ill  J'liii^,  {off 
Cape  Henry),  llicncxi  (laynnnul  noon  ;  ami  liaviii;;  si'ttliil  most  points 
willi  liini  to  uiy  salinfaction,  except  not  olitaiiiiiit;  assn.aiu'C  of  simhI- 
ing  !*lii|;M  above  York,  I  embarked  on  i)uaril  the  <,hirrii  ('l-mlnlh ,  tiie 
vecsel  I  wi'nt  down  in;  )iut  by  reason  of  liiird  bbuvinj;  aid  eolitrary 
windH,  I  did  not  reach  Willianisburgh  again  til.  the  '-''Jd.  "  Wasiiinc;- 
ton's  lUiin/. 


H 


LNDER  THE  COUNT  DE  GUASSE. 


77 


two,  wliioli  were,  too,  I'aither  oft".  On  the  20tli 
Lord  C/onnvallirf  wisliod  to  cros8  the  river,  but  was 
prevented  by  tlic  lire  t)f  onr  iVigateH  and  otlicr  small 
♦•raft,  (^hietly  prizes  taken  on  that  eoast.  As  the  wind 
became  vei-y  violent,  Mr.  de  Grasse  ran  liis  tleet  into 
llie  bay  and  aiiehored  on  a  line,  with  spriiigs  on  the 
(able.  Wii  all  nnule  onr  rejtairs  then  more  at  ease 
and  got  water  .nore  conveniently.  It  is  worth  re- 
marking that  we  got  it  only  by  digging  four  or  live 
feet  in  the  sand.  This  country  is  so  well  wooded  that 
I  saw  on  board  the  Diadaiie  a  piece  of  timber  costing 
28  francs,  measuring  thirty  feet  long  and  twenty  inches 
scpiare.  You  may  judge  from  this  that  we  all  made 
our  rejiairs  easily  and  without  sparing. 

On  the  8Uth  M.  de  (Jrasse  disend)arked  000  marines 
from  the  vessels  to  reinforce  M.  <le  Choisy's  corps.' 
Tiicy  repulsed  the  enemy,  and  compelled  then;  to  re- 
tire to  (iloucester.  The  commanders  had  established 
such  good  communication  that  we  heard  from  the 
lamu  everv  dav,  and  were  even  near  enough  to  see 
what  was  going  on  ;  for  we  witnessed  the  spectacle  of 
the  conflagration  of  an  English  50  gun  ship,^  set  on 
tire  by  the  French  battery. 

On  the  iStli  of  October  Mr.  de  Barras  was  sent 
October. 

to  the  camp  in  the  admiral's  place,   and  took 


I 


•  Mr.  do  C'lioisy  himsolf  Ixirc  Wasliiiigtoii's  loller  of  rciiuost,  wliicli 
lie  (jrasse  grunted  relucttiiitly.  desiring  tlial  no  furtlier  reijiiisilion 
niiglit  be  made.     Si'.viiKs's   Wnsliiiijluii,  viii,  107  n. 


■'Tlic  C/firoii. 


78 


OPEKATIONS  OF   THE   FKENCII   FLEET 


part  in  tho  capitulation  of  the  positions  of  Yorktown 
and  Gloucester,  and  of  Lord  Cornwallis's  army,  com- 
posed of  11,000  men,  an  army  which  had  committed 
atrocities  to  the  point  even  of  killing  a  wonuin,  oi)en- 
iug  her,  takinj^^out  tiie  child  she  bore  in  her  womb, 
and  hangiii_,  it  to  a  tree,  with  this  inscription :  "Thou 
shalt  not  breed  traitors." 

This  being  the  most  brilliant  compiest  in  the  war, 
the  cai)itulation  cannot  but  be  interesting.  The  read- 
ers will  not  be  displeased  to  see  the  articles  here  : 

Capitulation  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  on  surraukrinf/  his  j)os(.s 
of  Yorldoini  and  Gloucester  and  his  army  into  the  hands 
of  General  Washin(/ton,  Liciit.-Gcn.  Count  dc  liocham- 
beau,  and  Count  de  Grassc,  licut.-;fcn.  conimandinf/  the 
naval  forces  of  France  in  Chesapeake  bay. 

Article  I. 

The  garrisons  of  York  and  (iloucester,  including  the 
officers  and  seamen  of  his  Britannic  Majesty's  ships, 
as  well  as  the  mariners,  to  surrender  thenisi'lves  prison- 
ers of  war  to  the  combined  forces  of  America  and 
France.  The  land  troops  to  remain  prisoners  to  tlie 
United  States  —  the  navy  to  the  luival  army  of  his 
Most  Christian  Maiestv. 

Gmnted. 

Article  II. 

The  artillery,  anns,  accoutrements,  military  chest, 
and    public    stores    of  eviTv    den(nuination.    shall   be 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


79 


(U'livored  unimpaired   to   tlu'   heads   of  departments 
appointed  to  receive  tliem. 
Granted. 

Article  Til. 

At  twelve  o'clock  to-day  tlic  two  redoubts  on  the 
left  flunk  of  York  to  he  delivered,  the  one  to  a  detach- 
ment of  the  American  infantrv,  tlie  other  to  a  detach- 
ment  of  French  grenadiers. 

Granted. 

The  garrison  of  York  will  march  out  to  a  ]daco  to 
be  appointed  in  front  of  the  postn,  at  two  o'clock 
precisely,  with  sliouldered  arms,  colors  cased,  and 
drums  beating  a  British  or  (Jerman  march.  Tliey 
are  then  to  ground  their  arms,  and  return  to  their 
encampments,  where  they  will  remain  until  they  are 
dispatched  to  the  places  of  their  destination.  Two 
works  on  the  Gloucester  side  will  be  delivered  at 
one  o'clock  to  a  detachment  of  French  and  American 
troops  appointed  to  ])osf;ess  them.  The  garrison  will 
march  out  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon;  the  ca- 
valry with  their  swords  drawn,  trumpets  sounding,  and 
the  infantry  in  the  manner  }tri'scribed  for  the  garrison 
of  York.  They  ari'  likewise  to  return  to  their  en- 
campments, until  they  can  be  tinally  marclu'd  off. 

Articlk  IV. 
OtHcers  are  to  retain  their  side  arms.     Both  oiflcers 
and  soldiers  to  kec]i  their  }>rivate  property  of  every 
kind;  aii<l  no  part  of  their  baggagt'  or  papers  to  be  at 


I 

i    .ii 

I 


I  \\ 


I  III 


i! 


80 


OI'KKATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


niiy  time  Hiiltjcct  to  Honivli  or  iiispootion.  The  l»niri;a<^o 
iiiid  |tii|t('rrt  of  olHccrs  and  soldiiTH  tiikoii  (li:iin«?  the 
mIi'^c  to  Ito  liki'wiKC  pruHorvi'cl  lor  tliom. 

(iriinlat. 

It  Is  iindd'slood  that  auji  lU'npnii/  nlin'oiish/  iKhon/hn/  ■'') 
the  'iiihtihUitiils  (if  l/imc  .•<t(itfs  In  the  potssvfisioit  of  the  (jarri- 
Mii,  xliull  be  subject  to  be  reclaimed. 

AUTU'KK  V. 

The  milditTH  to  1)0  kept  ill  Virj^iniii,  Marvliiiid  oi' 
I'l'iiUHvlviiiiiii,  iiiid  lis  iiiucli  by  ivijiiiu'iits  as  iiossildo, 
aii<l  siiiiplii'd  with  tin-  saiiu'  rations  of  provisions  as 
uiv  allowed  to  soldiers  in  the  service  of  Anieriea.  A 
field  oflh-er  from  eaeh  nation,  to  wit,  Hritisli,  Anspaeh, 
and  II«'HKiaii,  ami  other  ottieers  on  parole,  in  the  jiro- 
portioii  of  one  to  iifty  men,  to  i)e  allowed  to  reside 
lu'artlu'ir  respectivi"  retjiments,  to  visit  them  frecpiently, 
and  l»e  witnesses  of  their  treatment,  and  that  their 
otfK'ers  may  reci'ive  and  di'liver  clothint,^  and  other 
lieeesHiiries  for  them,  tor  whieh  passports  are 
f^ranteil  when  ap|ilied  for. 


to   I 


»e 


(irduled. 


AuTirLi:  VI. 


TIh'  general,  st-aff,  and  other  olHcers  not  employt'd, 
as  nientioiieil  in  the  above  aitirles,  and  who  choose  it, 
to  be  )K'rmitted  to  i^o  on  parole  to  Kurojie,  to  Xew 
York,  or  to  any  other  American  maritime  posts  at 
preHeiit  ill  the  p(»ssessioii  of  the  British  forces,  at  their 


UNDER  THE   COUNT   DE  (JRASSE. 


81 


own  option,  and  proper  vosaols  to  bo  granted  by  tbo 
Count  de  .  i  i><so  to  curry  them  under  flag  of  truce  to 
New  York  within  ten  days  from  this  (hite,  if  ponsibk', 
and  they  to  resside  in  a  district  to  be*  agreed  upon 
hereafter,  until  they  embarlv. 

The  oflicers  of  the  civil  department  of  the  army  and 
mivy  to  be  inchided  in  this  arti  ;le.  I'assports  to  go 
by  hind  to  be  granted  to  tliose  to  whom  vessels  cannot 
bo  furnislicd. 

Granted. 

AUTlCliK  VII. 

Officers  to  l)e  allowed  to  kee)»  soldiers  as  servants, 
according  to  the  common  jtractice  of  the  service. 
Servants  not  soldiers  are  not  to  be  (tonsidcred  as  pri- 
soners, and  are  to  bt'  allowed  to  attend  their  masters. 

Granted. 

AuTT(  LE  vni. 

The  Ihnctla  sloop  of  wu?  I'o  be  equipped  and  navigated 
by  its  ])resent  ca[)tuin  aiui  cr"w,  and  left  entirely  at 
the  disposal  of  Lord  Cyoinwji'n  from  the  hour  that 
the  capitulation  is  signed,  \  >  rcLcive  an  aid-de-camp 
to  carry  disi)atches  to  Sir  llenry  Clinton;  aid  siu-li 
soldiers  as  he  may  thiidc  proper  t(.  send  to  New  York 
to  be  permitted  to  sail  without  examination.  AVben 
his  dispatches  are  ready,  bif  lordship  engages  on  his 
part  that  the  sbij)  shall  be  d<Tivercd  to  the  order  of 
the  (/ouiit  de  (j''as.so,  if  slie  escajtes  the  dangers  of  the 

sea.     That  she  shall  not  carry  off  any  public  stores. 
11 


82 


OI'EHAT'OVS  or   TIfK    lUENCII    FI,KKT 


Any  ]f'rt  of  tlio  crew  tluit  niiiy  I>c'  <li'ti('ii'iit  on  her 
return,  and  tlii'  soldiers  piissiMifjers,  to  lie  iiceountiHl 
li  V  on  licr  deli  very. 

Ai!Ti('i,K  rx. 

The  tnideix  are  to  preserve  tlieir  property,  and  to 
l)e  allowed  tliree  months  to  disjiose  ot"  or  remove 
them,  and  those  traders  ari'  not  to  Ite  consitK'red  uh 
prisoners  of  war. 

The  traders  will  be  ttllmred  to  dispose  of  their  ejf'rets,  the 
allied  aniii/  hacinef  the  riijht  of  preemptioii.  The  traders 
are  to  he  eotisidered  as  prisotters  of  war  upon  parole. 

AitTici.i-;  X". 

Xatives  or  inhaliitaiits  of  different  jtarts  of  this 
country  at  present  in  York  or  (Jloucesttsr,  are  not  to 
he  jiunish  il  ?  n  account  of  liavin^  joined  the  British 


army. 

m 

resort. 


■iiniot  he  iisseiitid  to,  luini/  idtoi/ither  (d' <'iril 


AllTIC'LK    XT. 

Proper  hospitals  to  he  furnished  for  tlic  sick  and 
woun<led.  They  arc  to  he  attended  hy  their  own 
surireons  on  parole;  and  llicy  arc  to  he  furnished  with 
medicines  and  stori's  from  the  American  lios|titals. 

The  hospital  stores  noir  in  York  and  (rloueesfer  shall  be 
delirered  for  the  ase  of  the  British  sir/;  and  ironnded. 
J\issj)orts  will  be  f/ranled  for  prneiiriiif/  them  fiirthei'  sup- 
plies from  Neir  Yor/i,  as  ocrasion  iiiaij  rei/itire ;  and  proper 


UNUEK   THE   COUNT    UE  0UA8.SE. 


83 


hospifnl.s  irill  be  /urniKhaf  for  the  rarption  of  the  .sick  and 
wounded  of  (he  two  t/arri.sons. 

AUTICU    XII. 

Wiis^oiirt  t»)  I»i'  fiiriii  lied  'iirrv    (lie   luiju^^iij^i'  of 

till!   oftictTri  iitti'iidiiijti:   flic  h. 
wlu'ii  travfliii};  on  ucfoi 


1111(1    lo   Hiir^fcoiiH 

ui  iitti'ii«rui^  iiiu 


liortpitiilM  at  public  cxiioii^ 


Th 


v'l/  are 


to  bef 


iinit.s 


hed. 


>J  i" 


AiiTic'LK  xni. 


The  shippiiii;  iiiid  lioiits  in  tlic  two  liarliors,  with 
ill!  their  Htorcs,  _i;iiiis,  tackliiij;  and  apparel,  shall  he 
(k'livt'ivd  up  iu  their  present  state  to  an  otKcer  of  the 
navy  appointed  to  take  possession  of  tiieiii,  previously 


uuloadini;  tl 


le   private   property,   pint   of  which    had 


heen  on  hoard  for  si-eurity  durinu;  the  sie 
(,'raii/ed. 


ire, 


I  '; 


AitTicM';  XIV, 

No  article  of  capitulation  to  Ik'  infrini,'ed  on  pre- 
tense of  reprisals;  and  if  there  l»e  any  douhlful 
expressions  on  it,  they  are  to  he  interiuvted  accord- 
ing to  tlie  toiinuoii  ineanini;  and  acceptation  of  thc^ 
words. 

Granted. 

Done  at  Yorktown,  Virginia,  Uctolicr  li>,  1781. 

CoKXWAl.Mrt, 
TllOS.  SVMUNDS. 


f 

id 


-^g^-^p 


s^. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


11.25 


lis         ■™" 
ta  122   12.2 

£  Itf   12.0 


1.4 


1^ 


'/ 


HiotDgraphic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


33  WfST  MAIN  STMIT 

WIBSTIR.N.Y.  MSSO 

(716)S72.4S03 


'4^ 


V 


6^ 


84 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


Done  in  the  trench,  before  Yorktown  in  Virginia, 
Oi'tober  lU,  1781. 

G.   'WASniNOTON, 

Le  Comte  de  Rociiambeau, 
Le  Comte  de  Barkas. 


Js!n  mon  nom  cl  cclui  du 


Comte  de  Gkasse. 


Division 

OF  THE  Count 

de  Barras. 

The  Due  de  Boxirgoyne 

80  guns 

,  Count  de  Barras 

Neptune 

74 

Dcstouches, 

Conquirant 

74 

La  Grandifere. 

Ardent 

66 

de  Marigny. 

EvcilU 

64 

de  Tilly. 

Provence 

64 

de  Lombard. 

Jason 

64 

de  la  Cloobeterie 

llormdus 

50 

Villebrune. 

UNDER  THE  COUNT  DE  GRASSE. 


85 


The  27th  wo  were  engaged  in  reeniharking  our 
troops,  artillciy,  and  munitions  of  war,  and  the  same 
day  tlie  English  hove  in  sight  oft'  the  head  of  the 
roads,  to  the  numher  of  31  sail.  Two  frigates  were 
stationed  there,  and  a  third  went  out  to  examine. 
She  returned  next  day  and  reported  to  the  admiral 
that  41  English  vessels  were  cruising  outside,  several 
of  them  being  frigates,  and  smaller  craft.  M.  do 
Grasse  would  not  budge  with  his  fleet.'  We  have 
leai'ued  that  Prince  William,^  son  of  King  George, 
was  in  the  fleet,  which  he  liad  joined  with  three 
vessels  from  England  within  a  few  days. 

On  the  30th  the  enemy  were  again  signalled,  and 
we  felt  sure  of  having  another  action  with  them  in 
those  waters;  and  the  reason  of  our  not  engaging 
them,  is,  doubtless,  the  violent  winds  which  blew  for 
several  days.  The  admiral  profited  by  their  departure 
to  send  two  frigates  to  France  with  his  despatches  and 
those  of  the  generals  of  the  troops,  which  cannot  have 
been  received  with  indifterence.  One  division  of  the 
fleet  was  intended  to  go  to  Cape  Francois,  and  the 
regiment  of  Gatinois,  now  Royal  Auvergne,^  was  sent 


>  The  second  journal  correctly  states  that  De  Grasse,  in  so  doing,  de- 
ferred to  the  express  request  of  Washington, 

<  The  lute  King  William  IV  of  England  and  Hanover. 

■>  The  regiment  of  Gatinois  was,  says  Soulos,  made  up  from  the  regi- 
ment uf  Auvergne,  and  was  to  lead  the  attack.  The  Count  de  Ro- 
chambeau  said  to  the  grenadiers:  My  boys,  if  I  need  you  to-night  I 


/ 


/■ 


80 


OPERATIONS   OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


1 


H 


I  • 


'% 


"'% 


oil  lioard  them  m  as  to  be  conveyed  to  that  eapitul, 
where  a  considerable  convoy  has  assembled  to  be  es- 
corted to  Europe  by  M.  D'Albert  St.  llippolite.'  These 
vessels  are  the  Vietoirc,  Vailtant,  Triton,  I^rovcncc  and 
Hector.  The  last,  by  a  blander  common  enough  in 
fleets,  instead  of  following  her  destination,  I'tyoiued 
us,  her  captain,  by  name  Dalins,  intentionally  misun- 
derstanding what  had  just  been  hailed  to  him  from  a 
small  royal  brig.  Moreover,  this  oflicer  wished  to 
serve,  and  was  sure  of  soon  having  another  vessel,  for 
the  Hector  was  good  for  nothing.  In  fact,  on  reaching 
Martinique,  he  got  the  command  of  the  Neptune,  which 
drew  out  much  complaint  from  several  captains  his 
seniors  in  the  service. 

Before  leaving  this  country  I  wish  to  say  something 
of  North  America  and  its  people.  The  Americans 
are  generally  li'i'ge,  strong  and  well  made;  the  women 
are  handsome,  tai)ering  in  form,  have  very  little  bust, 
of  a  disposition  the  more  gentle  from  the  fact  of  their 
having  '>mong  them  many  Anabaptists,  known  to  be 

hope  yuu  .»ill  not  forget  Auvrrgne  sanit  incht,  an  honorable  epithet 
of  this  regiment,  which  it  has  merited  on  nil  occasions.  Thoy  replied 
that  they  would  be  killed  to  a  man,  and  nt  the  snmo  time  ai^kcd  to 
have  their  old  name  restored.  They  behaved  so  as  to  deserve  the 
highest  praise ;  and  the  king  has  since,  by  an  ordinance,  given  this  regi- 
ment the  name  of  Uoyal  Auvergne. — Troublet  de  VAmfr.  Any.,  iii,  30r). 

'  Dc  Grasso  was  at  this  time  anchored  within  the  Horse  Shoo,  and 
according  to  Robin,  could  not  have  prevented  a  landing  by  Clinton. 
But  (hat  author,  like  the  writer  of  this  journal,  censures  De  Qrasse 
unjustly.  The  succeeding  journal  states  correctly  that  Do  Qrasse 
yielded  to  the  express  re<iuost  of  Washington. 


"m 


UNDER  THE   COUNT  DE  GRASSE. 


87 


most  charitable  of  all  sects.  Hospitality  is  greatly 
practiced,  as  travelers  in  this  extensive  country  are 
few,  scarcely  any  in  fact.  The  servants  are  negroes, 
certainly  the  least  unhappy  of  their  kind,  being 
treated  with  more  kindness  than  our  lackeys  are  in 
France ;  hence  we  never  hear  in  this  country  of  mas- 
ters poisoned  by  their  negroes,  so  common  an  occur- 
rence in  our  West  India  islands.  The  Anglican  is 
the  dominant  religion ;  all  are  sutfered  there ;  the 
language  is  English.  I  believe  these  two  things  may 
well  make  them  give  the  English  the  preference  over  us 
in  a  few  years.  The  Americans  arc  phlegmatic,  ex- 
tremely serious,  always  engaged  in  their  business,  and 
that  of  the  state.  They  are  with  their  wives  only  to 
take  tea  or  some  other  drink.  The  girls  are  very  free, 
and  can  have  a  lover  without  their  parents  finding  it 
amiss;  but  if  they  arc  unfortunate  enough  to  have 
a  child,  they  must  leave  the  country,  iiidess  they  get 
married ;  but  woe  to  the  stranger  who  in  such  cases 
ri'fnses  to  marrv,  for  he  refuses  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 
The  women  are  as  reserved  as  the  girls  are  unre- 
served, ami  I  do  not  think  that  imfaithfnl  ones  can  be 
(iited  ;  at  all  events  they  behave  with  the  greatest  re- 
serve: yet  they  were  very  fond  of  the  French  officers, 
whom  they  preferred  even  to  their  countrymen,  but 
with  all  possible  decency.  This  is  perhaps  the  only 
(!ountry  where  justice  is  known  and  rendered.  I  saw  an 
American,  taken  in  arms  among  the  Knglish,  punished 


I 


#■ 


w 


...—••v^  ■ 


88 


OPERATIONS  OF  TIIE  FRENCH   FLEET 


with  death  hccauHe  ho  had  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity 
to  the  congress;  and  others  in  the  same  condition 
were  merely  treated  as  prisoners  of  war,  hecauso  they 
liad  always  served  the  Royalist  party. 

America  is  intersected  ])y  very  large  rivers.  It  is 
still  covered  with  wood,  an<l  has  many  marshes.  For 
this  reason,  at  the  same  latitude,  it  is  much  colder 
than  in  P]urope.  This  country  produces  ship  timhor, 
which  would  be  excellent  for  the  largest  vessels;  it 
abounds  in  cattle  of  all  kinds,  the  flesh  being  fully 
equal  to  that  of  ours  in  Europe.  These  articles  con- 
stitute their  staples  of  trade.  The  productions  of  this 
country  aie  a]>solutely  the  same  as  ours,  except  Indian 
corn,  whieh  they  make  into  bread,  and  rice,  which 
they  also  cultivate.  The  birds,  game  and  fish  arc 
entirely  ditterent  from  ours.  The  Americans  are 
much  given  to  bartering;  hence  in  several  districts, 
especially  in  Virginia,  they  preferred  sugar,  ratafia, 
brandy,  linen,  cloth  and  leather  to  money,  and  gave 
us  in  cxcliange  tobacco,  and  in  the  north,  furs. 

Xovembor  4th  the  fleet  weighed  anchor; 

November.  " 

the  ZeU  and  Conquerant  touched  on  a  sand 
bank,  called  Middleground.  They  ploughed  through 
it  so  that  the  progress  of  the  fleet  was  not  retarded  by 
this  event.  When  two  leagues  south  of  C-ape  Henry 
the  frigates  on  the  look  out  signalled  sails  to  the  lee- 
ward, but  the  admiral  would  not  let  us  give  chase,  the 
wind  and  sea  being  very  high. 


^*«. 


■'W^Vv. 


I. 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE   GRASSE. 


89 


On  tho  5th  and  6th  vesselH  were  again  signalled, 
and  wo  gave  cliusc  in  vain,  although  the  adniiral'H 
orders  were  to  come  to  action  as  soon  as  possible. 

On  tho  8th  the  vessels  intended  for  the  cape  parted 
from  the  fleet  and  steered  for  St.  Domingo,  while  we 
held  on  our  way  to  Martinique,  with  good  wind,  a 
little  too  strong,  and  a  frightful  sea. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  the  Hector  rejoined  us, 
her  captain  having  pretended  to  misunderstand  the 
admiral's  order,  which  was  communicated  to  him  by 
the  ofticer  commanding  a  brig,  the  bearer  of  Mr.  De 
Grasse's  orders.  That  same  day  18  sail  were  signalled 
to  our  windward,  which  made  us  sail  close  to  the 
wind ;  but  after  two  hours  useless  chase,  we  resumed 
our  route  with  forced  winds. 

On  the  11th  and  12th  we  experienced  the  most  dis- 
agreeable thing  felt  at  sea;  for  the  wind  hav':ig  sud- 
denly fallen,  and  the  sea  still  very  rough,  the  vessels 
pitched  so  violently  that  we  expected  our  masts  to 
go  over  every  moment,  and  we  all  but  lost  our  main- 
nuvst,  as  a  small  vessel  actuallv  did. 

On  the  13th  the  wind  sprang  up  again,  and  from  a 
good  (luarter.  Mr.  de  Gi-asse  made  us  resume  our 
route,  to  the  sotmd  of  thunder,  which  still  muttered 
in  the  distance.  Thus  the  day  passed.  About  six 
in  tho  afternoon  the  wind  increased  considerably,  and 
the  storm  overtook  us  with  fearful  and  repeated  flash- 
es of  lightning.     The  nearest  land  was  St.  Domingo, 

two  hundred  and  flfty  leagues  oft".      This  lasted  till 
12 


I,  I 

) 


it 


^1 


90 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH  FLEET 


oi^lit  o'clock,  when  wo  found  ourwelves  in  tho  midst 
of  a  violent  tempest,  the  night  very  <lark.  the  heavenn 
on  fire,  the  wind  fearful  and  tlie  flea  furiouH  —  thifl 
with  Huch  violent  peals  of  thunder  that  most  of  the 
veHsels  could  not  hear  the  admirars  signals,  though 
given  with  heavy  cannon,  for  thus  far  we  have  con- 
tinued our  route,  and  Mr.  de  Grasse  ouglit  to  have  had 
his  fleet  dispersed,  hut  he  still  had  the  right  to  com- 
mit faults  without  heing  compelled  to  regret  it.  We 
lay  to  starboard  to  the  wind.  Scarcely  was  this 
mancfuvre  completed  than  there  came  two  fearful 
claps  of  thunder,  the  clouds  opened,  inundating  us, 
tho  wind  redoubled,  and  I  do  not  see  how  some  of 
the  vessels  escaped  heing  swamped  (that  is  to  say, 
have  half  the  ship  under  water  and  he  ready  to  cap- 
size). We  took  necessary  precautions  to  avert  tho 
most  imminent  accidents,  all  the  crews  were  up  and 
at  work,  and  in  the  deepest  silence.  This  agreeable 
weather  lasted  till  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The 
rest  of  the  night  was  stormy,  and  at  six  the  tempest 
ceased,  to  the  great  delight  of  all  parties  interested. 
The  lightning  struck  the  JiioJtcmo)it,  without  injuring 
the  vessel,  but  killing  two  men  and  wounding  three. 
On  the  l.'ith  we  saw  a  water-spout,  a  very  consider- 
able mass  of  air  and  water  in  the  form  of  a  truncated 
cone,  which  pumjis  up  the  sea  till  the  volume  of  water 
outweighs  tluit  of  air,  when  it  bui-sts.  The  volume  of 
a  spout,  as  I  was  assured  by  several  intelligent  sea- 
men, is  enough  to  swamp  the  largest  vessels.      We 


UNDER  THE  COUNT   DE  QRASSE. 


01 


Hred  two  ctiniiun  bulh  ut  it,  to  hruuk  it,  but  did  not 
Buucood,  HH  we  were  too  liir  oft*. 

On  the  21  Ht  the  brig  ContwaUis  went  uheud  to  an- 
nounce our  arrival  to  the  Murquis  de  Bouilli,  ut  Fort 
Royal. 

.  On  the  25th  wo  hove  in  sight  of  the  .Vforne  du  Van- 
clin.  Order  to  crowd  nail,  no  as  to  nnike  the  arufhor- 
age  of  Martinique.  Tluf  fteet  <iid  not  clear  declcH  to 
pass  the  channel  of  St.  Lucia;  on  the  contrary,  1  never 
saw  it  go  with  such  fancied  security  and  such  disor- 
der, for  the  first  and  last  vessels  were  at  least  five 
leagues  apart;  so  that  two-thirds  anchored  on  the  2rjtli, 
while  the  rest  could  not  come  to  anchor  before  the 
next  day.  Most  assuredly,  in  this  disorder,  ten  English 
vessels  would  liave  given  us  our  hands  full.  Wo  wore 
in  hopes  to  find  in  the  roads  sonio  vessels  from  France, 
with  a  convoy;  but  our  hopes  were  fallacious,  and  wc, 
as  well  as  the  colony,  were  on.  the  verge  of  running 
out  of  provisions. 

We  were  greatly  surprised,  on  arriving  at  Fort 
Royal,  to  learn  the  departure  of  the  Marquis  <lo  Houill6 
with  1500  men,  on  two  frigates  and  all  the  boats  or 
uovnains,  on  an  expedition  to  which  no  one  had  any 
clue. 

On  the  let  we  learned  that  ho  had  junt 

December. 

taken  St.  Eustatius,  a  Dutch  emporium 
which  Rodney  had  captured,  as  I  stated  on  our  arrival 
at  the  West  Indies.  To  recover  this  colony,  lie  URcd 
one  of  those  bold  stratagems  that  always  succoed  with 


92 


Ol'KKATIONS   OF   THE    KKENCII    KLEKT 


a  iiiaii  of  tali'iit  wlio  has  won  the  attW'tioii  of  h'lH 
trii()|ts.  Tlie  Mar(|uiH  de  Houillu  knew  liow  iM'^li- 
K*'Htly  till'  Kngliuli  lay  at  St.  KuHtatiiiH,  anil  tiiwt  landed 
Dillon'rt  ro^inient/  wliic-li,  in  trd  coatH,  and  Hpoakiiij^ 
Kn^liHli,  could  hotter  cover  tliedeHifrn.  Four  liundred 
soldierrt  of  tluH  regiment  were  dlHenibarked  nt  three 
o'eloek;  the  Hea,  whieh  wan  running  very  high,  pre- 
vented the  hunling  of  the  reHt.  A  hundred  men  of 
Walrth'rt  regiment  had  landed  on  another  nide,  com- 
manded hy  Mr.  O'C'onor.'  Innigining  tliat  he  heard 
the  Hignal,  lie  niarclied  straight  on  the  fort,  hut  was 
mucli  Huqtrised  to  see,  instead  of  his  fellow-Holdierw  of 
Dillon'M  regiment,  the  KngUHJi  reeruttri  at  drill.     He 


■Tliix  rfgiiiicnt  formed  part  of  tlio  celebrated  IriRli  brigade  in  (lio 
Frenoli  worvlco,  originnlly  compoHed  of  llic  IriHli  forccH  wlio  defended 
Limerick  for  Jiiincit  II,  niid  on  its  Hurrender  were  left  to  clioone  viilior 
llio  Frencli  or  Kn)(liNli  service.  Tliey  fortiinntely  cIioho  tlie  former, 
as  tlio  Kngliitli  government  nbxolvcd  itself  from  tlic  moral  obligation 
of  keeping  the  treaty.  This  brigade  wan  maintained  till  tlio  French 
revolution,  ami  distinguished  itself  greatly  at  Fonlenoy  and  other 
battles.  During  the  American  revolution,  regiments  of  the  Irish 
brigade  served  at  Savannah  and  in  the  West  Indies.  The  recruiting 
for  this  brigade  was  kept  up  in  Ireland  in  spite  of  heavy  penalties, 
and  the  recruits  were  termed  wild  geese.  On  the  presint  occasion 
only  Count  Dillon  and  't^)  chasseurs  of  his  regiment  were  able  to  land  ; 
the  other  boats  were  broken  on  the  rocks  and  miiny  lives  lost ;  but  the 
Marquis  de  Itouillt!,  whoso  own  boat  cnpsixcd,  found  a  less  dangerous 
spot,  and  disembarked  the  rest  rapidly. 

>  The  .Marquis  styles  this  officer  tlie  "t.'heTalier  O'Connor,  Captain 
of  Walsh's  Chasseurs,"  but  makes  Dillon  attack  the  troops  on  parade. 
I  do  not  find  this  Capt.  O'Connor  on  any  list  at  hand.  There  was, 
however,  a  Major  O'Conor  in  Dillon's  regiment  in  178U,  tlr  WiiToi/uier, 
Etal  (idi^riil.  The  Chevalier  John  Keating,  probably  the  last  survi- 
vor of  this  regiment,  Walsh-Serrant,  died  a  few  years  since  in  Phila- 
delphia, aged  W. 


^TSW 


UNnKH   TIIK   (;t)UNT    UK  GKASSK. 


98 


tirod  oil  tlu'iii  at  oiicc;  tlu'v  th><l  iiitu  tliu  tbii,  uiul  ho 
iif'tiT  tlu'in  up  t(»  the  >?ati',  which  ho  hi'I/amI.  Tlio 
Ki'iMK'h  troopH  «-aiiH'  up  in  a  nionioiit,  niHlu'd  in, 
and  i'oiiipolloil  tho  Kii^KiMh  to  capituhito  in  their 
t|iiai*tiM'rt,  lirt'iH'lioM  in  liaiid.  Mr.  O'Conor  went  and 
arri'Hti'd  the  jfovernor,  who,  takint;  liiiii  for  an  otHcoi  of 
hiHpirriHon,  Hcoi<li'd  him  for  tlic  tirin<;  iind  tlie  troiihie 
anions  the  troopH,  l)iit  vviik  niiieh  amazed  whi-n  in- 
formed tliat  hirt  interhieutor  was  Freiieh,  and  hiiUHelf 
a  jiriHoner  of  his  MoHt  (Mirirttian  ArujeHty.  Jle  went  to 
the  win(h»w  to  h)ok,  and  fell  hack  faintinj^  when  he  saw 
the  re^finient  of  AiixerroiH  drawn  up  in  line  of  hattl  on 
tho  H(piai'e,  and  Mr.  do  JJouillo  ^ivinj;  orders.  He 
then  repented  of  the  party  of  pleasure  in  the  country 
to  which  ho  luul  just  been,  and  from  which  ho  ^ot 
hack  tW(»  hours  liefore  the  surprise.  Tho  garrison,  to 
the  nuiiiher  of  7r)(>,  were  taken  prisoners  of  war. 
Four  inillion  iivres  were  taken;  170,000  heUuigiiifij  to 
Kodney  or  his  troojts,  arising  from  tho  booty  taken 
hy  the  Knglish,  were  distributed  among  tlio  troops 
engaged  in  this  e.xpeditioii,  and  tho  rest  was  restored 
to  the  Dutch  colonists.  St.  Martin  and  Anguilla  wore 
also  taken,  and  all  was  restored  to  the  condition  of 
things  l.v  tbro  tho  arrival  of  tho  onomy.' 


I  JanioN  (N)c'kliiirti(>,  liciil.  col.  of  the  iioth  foot  and  governor  of  St. 
KuMlaliii,  wnH  Iried  hy  court  nmrliiil  and  found  "  guilty  of  culpable 
noglocl  in  not  Inking  the  nccrssary  prccaulions  for  tho  dcfeiico  of  tho 
iHland,  nolwilliNliindIng  lie  Imd  received  the  fullest  intelligence  of  an 
intended  attack. "  The  liettcr  accounts  make  Cockburne  captured  on 
the  parade  with  the  Iroops. 


04 


Ol'KKATIONS  OF   THK   KKKNCll   KLEET 


Tlioru  wiiH  nothing  intororttiii);  (luring  our  Htiiy  ut 
Murtiiii<iui>;  the  ropcatctl  viHitH  of  an  Kii^^HaIi  tri>(uto 
whU'h  cttuu'  uiul  rt'fonnoitivd  uh  ovt-ry  other  day,*  ami 
which  wo  made  no  utteinpt  to  take  or  chuHe,  wuh  the 
only  thiu^  that  oi't'nrrcd.  Tlic  arrival  of  the  Mnniuin 
(le  Uouill6  and  hirt  little  divinioti,  out  of  whielt  he  had 
left  u  Htroiig  garriHoi)  at  8t.  EuHtatiuH,  occupied  uh 
more  than  timt  of  nixteen  Knglirth  voHrtelH  at  the  wind- 
ward irtU'H. 

On  the  17th  wc  set  mul  again,  Htcering  through  the 
St.  Lucia  channel.  Tlic  Hca  ran  mountain  higli;  I 
never  Haw  it  ho  high  without  a  ntrong  wind.  In  the 
evening  the  Destia  liad  to  put  hack,  liaving  met  with 
an  accident  in  her  muHtn.     We  aUo  saw  Hinall  whaleH. 

The  iHth  in  remarkahle  for  the  collinion  of  the  Soli- 
Unrc  and  C'oiit/iurant ;  the  latter  went  to  Fort  Koyal  to 
refit;  aa  for  the  Solilaire,  whicli  lost  her  bowsprit  and 
foremast,  she  was  unable  to  make  Fort  Koyal,  and 
was  forced  to  put  in  at  Cape  Fran^oirt.  It  is  ntrange 
to  see  so  many  collinionri  and  no  ])uniHhmont;  it  is 
very  astonit^lpng  that  there  was  not  a  council  of  war, 
and  it  wan  abHolutely  neccsHary.  AVe  shall  see  in  tlie 
sequel  how  injurious  these  collisions  were,  and  what 
they  brought  on  our  tleet,  and  what  they  cost  M.  de 
Grasse.      The  sea  being  frightful  and  the  wind  too 


>  The  English  naval  commanders  kept  so  sharp  an  eye  on  the 
French,  that  we  have  a  report,  dated  Nor.  30,  1781,  by  Capt.  John  M. 
Laurin  of  the  Trilon,  describing  quite  minutely  the  twenty-eight  ves- 
seU  of  Do  Qrasse's  fleet  as  they  lay  at  anchor  at  Fort  Royal. 


UNDER   THE   COU^:T   DE  ORASSE. 


96 


«tron/jf  to  run  \\\^  the  ohannol,  wo  put  bnck  nf?nii\  tho 
2Jl<l,  haviiif^  tho  inont  of  our  vphhoIh  to  iinri^. 

On  tho  2Hth  wo  took  tho  troopH  on  hoard,  and  tho 
27th  wi  .Miilod,  lonvinjf  tlio  div'iHion  of  tho  Count  do 
BurraH  in  port.  Wo  propoHt'd  to  tako  Barhadoe«, 
whiU'  thttt  oonunandor  was  taking  Ht.  CliriHtophor'n, 
whoro  wo  woro  to  join  him.  [t  waw,  T  think,  vory  ill- 
ralouhitod;  but  an  tho  wind  did  not  allow  our  running 
up  tl)o  (.'hannol  of  Ht.  Lucia,  whoro  wo  Ruttbrod  tor- 
ril)ly,  wo  woro  brought  back  to  tho  anchorago,  a  thing 
wo  noodod  great  I3'. 

On  tho  4th  of  January,  1782,  tho  floot  nn- 

1782.  chorod  at  Fort  Koyal,  and  loft  on  the  r)th 
with  tho  division  that  had  roniainod  thoro,  oxcopt  the 
(kton  an<'  Uon  lirittanique  (u  transport  tnkon  from  tho 
Englisli),  carrying  our  field  artillery,  which  anchored 
at  St.  Eustiitiu^.  Wo  steered  to  St.  Christopher's, 
experiencing  calms  and  much  fog. 

On  the  7th,  being  under  Gnadaloupo,  tho  fleet 
separated,  and  rejoined  on  the  8th. 

On  the  10th  the  Sceptre  and  the  Glorieux  ga\e  chaso 
to  an  English  74,  which  they  would  liavc  taken  if  tho 
admiral  had  not  obliged  them  to  return  to  their  posts. 

On  tlio  lltli  the  fleet  andiored  at  the  Basse  Torre, 
St.  Christopher's,  after  destroying  and  dismounting 
several  butteries. 

On  the  13th  the  Due  de  Bourgoyne,  tho  Diadtme,  tho 
ZeUc  and  the  separated  vessels  joined  us,  as  well  as  the 
Cnton,  which  arrived  from  St.  Eustatius.     The  whole 


96 


OPERATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


I''  ! 


island  suiTondcred  the  12th,  tlic  inbabitaiits  having 
capitulated  for  thomsolvcH  and  for  Nevin.  The  troops 
landed  without  the  least  opposition.  Fort  Brimstone 
Hill,  the  only  important  plaec,  but  susceptible  of  a 
vigorous  defence,  was  the  refu<;e  of  the  garrison, 
which  prepared  to  make  vigorous  etforts  to  ]>reservc 
tlie  island.  Sir  Thomas  Shirley,  governor  of  tlie 
windward  isles,  and  Sir  Thomas  Frazer,  were  in  the 
redoubt,  resolved  to  defend  the  position  as  long  as 
possible.  They  were,  moreover,  confident  that  tliey 
could  not  be  taken,  and  so  the  English  engineers 
assured  them.  We  found  in  the  different  ports  of  that 
island  fifty  vessels,  which  we  to(>k. 

On  the  12th  M.  de  B<»uille  and  his  anny  were  under 
B"imst<>ne  Hill  or  the  redoubt,  and  at  once  began 
liis  jireparations  for  an  attack.  A  50  gun  ship  and 
two  frigates  were  jiosted  to  blockade  the  port,  and 
M.  Descars,  comnumdiug  the  Glorkux,  )troceede<l  to 
sweep  off  several  vessels  moored  under  the  redoubt. 

The  13th  our  troops  had  well  nigh  lost  their  general ; 
50  negroes  from  the  houses  near  Brimstone  Hill  having 
fired  on  him  while  reconnoitering.  The  l-4th  these 
houses  were  burned.  M.  de  ( Jrasse  felt  some  uneasiness 
about  the  Dcstin,  but  learned  that  she  liad  \mt  back  to 
Fort  Royal  in  conseipieuce  of  her  leaking  badly.  The 
Lion  Jirltluiiliiiie  has  just  been  lost  on  St.  Christopher's 
by  the  awkwardness  of  the  creole  who  commanded  it, 
and  who  had  no  merit  but  the  protection  of  the  com- 
nmndcrs.     All  was  saved,  though  the  mi»rtars  would 


UNDER  THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


97 


have  gone  down  but  for  the  plan  adopted  by  an  artil- 
lery officer.     The  vessel  was  a  total  wreck. 
- .  On  the  22d  we  learned  that  the  English 

ment.  istof    were  under  sail,   coming   to    the    relief 

St.  Cbristo-  '^ 

pL-'-'s.  of  the  colony,  having  a  fleet  to  the 
windward  of  22  vessels,  two  of  them  three  deckers, 
commanded  by  Admiral  Hood.  Ours,  to  the  number 
of  28,  hoisted  sail  on  the  evening  of  the  23d.  That 
same  night  we  got  an  exact  report  of  the  enemy,  and 
at  noon  on  the  24th  we  discovered  them  ofl:'  Rhidon, 
doubling  that  little  isle,  under  which  they  lay  to,  with 
an  air  of  hesitation.  M.  de  Grasse  also  lay  to  and 
committed  the  blunder  of  waiting  for  them ;  but  he 
had  forgotten  that  the  enemy,  being  to  the  windward, 
would  always  retain  the  advantage,  and  that  he  could 
not  approach  i  .lem  at  the  same  angle  as  they  did  us, 
enabling  them  to  enter  the  anchorage  in  spite  of  our 
fleet.  The  decVa  had  long  been  cleared  for  action. 
The  light  squaaron,  commanded  by  Mr.  de  Monteuil, 
was  ordered  to  hug  the  point  of  Isle  Nevis.  This 
was  very  badly  executed ;  at  least  it  was  supposed  that 
that  officer  acted  intentionally,  knowing  that  he  had 
received  many  slights  from  Mr.  de  Grasse,  who  by  a 
trick  deprived  him  of  the  command  of  the  Lmiguedoc, 
80,  and  gave  him  that  of  the  Ardent,  66,  which  was 
rotten  and  was  to  take  liim  back  to  France;  but  at 
the  moment  of  action  he  carried  his  flag  to  the  Nep- 

13 


* 


1  i 


!  I   •  . 


ei 


V 


98 


OPERATIONS   OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


tune,  one  of  the  vessels  of  his  division.'  Admiral 
Hood,  seeing  our  fleet  retire  from  Nevis  and  fall  to 
leeward,  made  his  advance  under  light  siul  and  in  excel- 
lent order.  Mr.  de  Grasse  signalled  his  fleet  to  crowd 
sail,  keeping  the  wind  on  the  larboard  tack.  He  soon 
after  poured  half  a  broadside  on  the  enemy ;  but  the 
balls  did  not  reach,  and  we  did  not  get  fairly  within 
gun  shot  till  half  an  hour  later,  about  half  past 
three.  The  Gloriciix,  Si'cpire,  Ville  de  Paris,  and 
some  others,  brought  the  enemy  to  close  action.  The 
Sceptre  received  many  balls,  but  fortunately  very  few 
of  them  went  through  or  did  much  harm.  In  spite  of 
our  Are,  the  English  admiral  managed  his  fleet  so 
well  that  it  anchored  in  our  place  with  a  spring  on  the 
cable,  under  our  Are,  without  Mr.  de  Grasse  prevent- 
ing them.  The  four  rear  vessels  of  the  English  fleet 
were  indeed  badly  handled,  and  it  was  even  pretended 
that  we  should  have  taken  two  of  them.  Mr.  de 
Barras,  who  was  in  our  rear  division,  was  cannonaded 
by  that  of  the  English  for  a  long  time,  followed  by  only 
two  vessels;  but,  on  the  signal  to  veer  oh"  in  order,  we 
left  the  enemy  to  ancho"  at  their  ease.  At  0  the  com- 
bat ended,  and  we  kept  on  broadside  to  broadside  all 


I  The  ulhcr  account  ascribeH  the  same  misconduct  to  Montcil,  giving 
dolaiU  which  leave  no  doubt  that  this  officer  wns  guilly  ot'  a  most 
criminal  dignhodience  of  orders  in  un  acluiil  engagement  with  the 
enemy.  It  gives  a  sad  idea  of  the  state  of  insubordination  reigning  in 
the  fleet.  In  the  Knglish  navy  such  conduct  would  have  been  pun- 
i*hc<I  with  death,  as  it  enabled  Hood  to  escape,  join  Rodney,  and  thus 
bring  on  the  French  fleet  one  of  the  most  disastrous  defeats  in  its 
annaU. 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


99 


night  long,  ho  us  to  get  to  windward.     Our  faults  are 
too  evident  to  require  any  pointirg  them  out.'     An 
English  frigate  was  burnt  under  Nevis  by  the  crew  for 
fear  of  falling  into  our  hands. 
.  .   .,  On  the  25th  at  daybreak,  signal  to  make 

4ih  Engage-  *'  '      * 

raent.  i!d  of     ready  for  action;   we  were  then  beyond 

St.  Christo-  *'  •' 

pher's.  Nevis.  8oon  after,  signal  to  form  in  line 
of  battle  in  inverse  order,  and  to  tlie  Souverain,  com- 
manded by  Mr.  de  Glandeve,  to  take  the  head  of  the 
line.  At  8,  order  to  concentrate  on  the  English  rear 
division.  At  9f  we  began  the  action ;  but  in  conse- 
quence of  the  good  will  and  aft'oction  entertained  for 
the  admiral,  all  efforts  were  turned  to  the  centre  of  the 
fleet.  However  we  were  fortunate  enougli,  and  our 
gunners  expert  enough,  to  handle  the  four  rear  vessels 
in  the  English  line  so  severely  that  they  were  forced  to 
weigh  anchor  under  our  lire,  and  could  hardly  have 
been  more  cut  up  than  they  were.  As  our  ships 
passed  the  last  English  vessels  they  veered  in  the  same 
order.  This  action  was  simply  a  brush,  which  lasted 
two  hours,  and  amounted  to  nothing,  our  fleet  always 
keeping  to  windward. 

6th  Engage-    -^^  ^  o'clock,  signal  to  clear  for  action 
'stl'christo-     ^"^^  ^^  comc  to  closc  uction  with  the  i-car. 

p  ler  s.         This  was  done  at  4 ;  and  we  so  harrassed 

•  Commander  Ward,  in  his  Naval  Tactics,  soys  that  De  Orasse's 
error  was  in  anchoring  near  into  the  sliorc  with  both  extremities  of  his 
line  exposed.  They  compeUcd  him  to  sail  out,  in  liopes  of  drawing 
Hood  out,  but  the  Intlcr  anchored  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  anchorage, 
will)  his  leading  vessel  under  a  point  of  land,  and  his  rear  protected 
by  vessels  between  the  line  and  the  shore. 


5; 

Is  i 


100 


OPERATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET. 


the  English  roar  that  Admiral  Hood  rcphiced  the  four 
rear  vessels  by  others  which  had  fluttered  less  in  the 
three  engagements,  supposing  that  he  would  have  to 
light  two  battles  a  day  for  some  time  to  come.  Our 
fleet  lost  2  or  800  men  in  these  aft'aii's,'  and  four 
officers;  the  enemy  lost  more,  and  besides  lost  all 
their  wounded.  The  French  fleet  always  under  sail, 
hugging  the  wind,  which  it  sometimes  lost;  the  English 
fleet  still  anchored  with  springs  on  the  cables,  always 
with  decks  cleared  for  action,  and  ready  to  begin.  So 
we  rode  for  19  days. 

On  the  28th,  several  of  our  vessels  needed  provi- 
sions. The  admiral  ordered  those  who  had  any  left 
to  share  with  those  which  had  run  out.  The  English 
that  day  landed  1200  men,*  who  were  repulsed  with 
considerable  loss  by  M.  de  F16chin,  who  had  under 
him  only  274  men  of  the  regiments  of  Agenois  and 
Touraine.  They  were  compelled  to  reembark,  which 
they  did  under  the  tire  of  their  frigates  or  ships. 
This  action  certainly  does  great  honor  to  the  French 
infantry,  and  proves  its  superiority  over  the  English. 

On  the  31st,  the  CornwalUs  and  the  frigate  Astrh 
joined  our  fleet,  and  we  learned  that  several  vchscIh, 
loaded  with  flour  from  New  England,  had  reached 
Fort  Royal. 


iQordon  gives  the  English  loss  nt  72  killed,  244  wounded. 

'  These  were  troops  from  Antigua,  under  UenerU  Prescott,  and  (he 
60th  regiment.  Gordon's  version  of  the  affair  is  very  different.  IIo 
makes  tliem  repulse  tiic  French  with  loss,  and  finally  retire  to  the 
ships  without  losing  a  man. 


\"*(^_ 


UNDER  THE   COUNT  D£  GRASSE. 


101 


February. 


On  the  2d,  at  4  p.  M.,  the  Marquis  de  Vau- 
dreuil,'  commodore  commanding  the  Tri- 


■  The  family  of  Vaudreuil  figure  so  frequently  in  our  history,  in  vari- 
ous places,  as  governors  of  Canada,  of  Montreal,  Three  Rivers,  Louisi- 
ana, St.  Domingo,  as  commodores  and  captains  in  the  navy,  that  in  the 
French  loose  way  of  styling  an  officer,  simply  "  M.  de  Vaudreuil,"  one 
member  is  often  confounded  with  another.  The  most  distinguished  arc  : 
1.  Philip  de  Rigaud,  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  who  died  at  Quebec,  Oct. 
lU,  172<>,  after  having  been  for  21  years  governor  of  Canada  and 
lieutenant-general  of  New  France.  2.  His  son  Louis  Philippe  de 
Rigaud,  Count  de  Vaudreuil,  who  became  ensign  of  marines  (Troupes 
de  la  Marine),  March  2,  161)8 ;  lieutenant  in  1701 ;  captain  in  1710  ; 
ensign  of  a  ship  of  the  line  in  1711 ;  lieutenant  of  same,  1713;  captain 
of  same,  1738;  in  this  capacity  he  commanded  the  Intrf.pide  in  the 
action  between  Vice-Admiral  Hawke  and  M.  de  I'Estenducre,  Oct. 
25,  1747.  He  was  created  commodore  in  1748;  lieutenant-general  of 
the  naval  forces  in  1753;  and  died  at  Tours  in  1763.  By  his  wife, 
Catharine  LeMoyne  deSdrcgny,  a  niece  of  Iberville,  he  had:  3.  Louis 
Philippe  Rigaud,  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  born  at  Rochefort,  Oct.  28, 
1724;  entered  the  navy  in  1740;  was  with  his  father  in  the  Intrfpide; 
lieutenant  on  the  Arelhusa,  when  taken,  in  1754  ;  captain  of  a  frigate  in 
1764;  of  a  ship  of  the  line  in  1765;  commanded  the  Pendant,  74,  at 
the  battl)  of  Ouesant,  July  27,  1778.  After  reducing  Senegal  with  a 
squadron,  in  1770,  he  joined  d'Kstaing  in  the  West  Indies,  on  the  21st 
of  April,  though  with  crews  thinned  by  African  fevers.  In  the  action 
off  Qranada,  July  6,  1779,  he  opened  the  battle  with  the  Pendant,  and 
was  the  last  to  cease  firing  as  Biron  drew  off.  He  wns  apparently  at 
the  siege  of  Savannah  ;  and  the  next  year,  still  in  the  Pendant,  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  battle  of  Martinique,  April  17,  between  de 
Quiohcn  and  Rodney.  After  taking  part  in  the  engagement  between 
de  Ouichon  and  Kcmpenfold,  he  sailed  in  the  Triomphant  to  the  West 
Indies.  His  career  under  the  Count  de  Qrasse  will  be  found  in  these 
pages.  After  the  defeat  of  De  Grasse,  he  drew  off  the  rest  of  the  fleet 
and  proceeded  to  Boston,  where  he  formed  a  project  to  attack  the 
English  in  Maine  ;  and  after  dispatching  La  Pt'rouse  to  Hudson's  Bay, 
sailed  to  the  West  Indies,  in  17K3,  to  join  in  the  attack  on  Jamaica,  and 
was  at  Porto  Clabello  when  news  of  peace  arrived.  He  then  returned 
to  France  in  tht  \urlhximhrrland.  He  was  subsequently  lieutenant- 
general  of  the  naval  forces.  In  1780  he  was  deputy  of  the  nobles 
of  Castelnaudry,  and  in  1701   he   retired  to  England,  but  returned 


t 


102 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH  FLEET 


omphant,  80,  joined  us,  with  M.  d'Ainblimont  in  tho 
Brave,  74.  The  next  day  tliey  approached  tho  English, 
and  M.  de  Vaudreuil  found  their  position  respectable. 

On  the  11th  we  learned  that  M.  de  Grasse  had 
wished  to  raise  the  siege  of  St.  Kitts ;  Mr.  do  Bouille 
retained  him  by  firmness.  We  were  told,  moreover, 
that  it  was  simply  the  admiral's  personal  dissatisfac- 
tion with  his  captains  that  had  induced  him  to  take 
this  false  step. 

On  the  5th  several  frigates  supplied  such  of  tho 
vessels  as  needed  provisions,  and  then  only  we  heard 
the  misfortune  that  had  befallen  M.  do  Guichen,  and 
the  delay  of  the  convoy  that  was  so  sorely  needed. 

On  the  6th  the  CormcalUs  took  a  schooner  of  six 
guns,  which  kept  constantly  plying  between  tho  ene- 
my's fleet  and  Nevis  to  get  fresh  provisions;  the 
English  not  daring  to  land  at  St.  Kitts,  which  was 
guarded  by  our  troops. 

On  tho  8th  tho  Richanonl  brought  us  some  small 
vessels  loaded  with  provisions,  as  well  as  tho  Hesolu, 
which  had  already  taken  to  the  camp  tho  third  bat- 
talion of  the  regiment  of  Ilaynault. 

On  the  9th  the  English  sot  fire  to  a  merchantman, 
which  they  cast  off,  and  which  did  not  burn  down  till 
next  day.  That  same  day  the  English  sent  a  small 
boat  and  a  sloop,  with  a  flag,  to  ask  the  admiral  to 


and  died  at  Paris,  December  14,  1802.  4.  His  brother  Louis  de 
Rigaud,  Chevalier  de  Vaudreuil,  also  mentioned  in  tbeao  pages,  was 
born  in  1728;  ensign  of  a  ship  of  ihe  line  in  1746;  lieutenant  in 
1756  ;  captain  of  a  frigate  in  1764. 


:'M«I 


UNDER   THE   COUNT  DE  GRASSE. 


103 


allow  a  transport  with  two  hundred  wounded  to  pass 
through  to  one  of  their  islands,  which  was  refused. 

On  the  11th,  arrived  a  Spanish  packet.  An  officer 
from  her  boarded  the  Ville  de  Paris,  and  after  a  long 
conference  with  the  admiral,  sailed  for  the  Leeward 
Isles.  The  day  but  one  before,  an  officer  command- 
ing a  brig  bearing  dispatches  to  the  admiral,  carried 
them  to  Admiral  Hood,  mistaking  one  nation  for  the 
other;  and  in  fact  he  might  expect  to  find  the  English 
standing  oft"  and  the  French  at  anchor,  knowing  that 
we  were  besieging  St.  Kitts. 

,    On  the  12th,  to  the  great  ioy  of  all,  we 

Surrenderor  '  6  J   J  ' 

St.  KiitH       Haw  a  white  flag  raised  on  the  breach  of 
and  Nevis. 

the  redoubt.  We  could  scarcely  believe 
our  eyes;  for  the  toil  and  hardship  that  de  Bouill^'s 
army  had  to  undergo  are  incredible ;  and  men  must 
love  a  commander  to  sulFer  the  severe  duty  imposed 
on  7000  men  doing  that  of  21000.  There  were  officers 
and  men  who  slept  only  one  night  xuider  their  tents 
during  the  whole  siege,  which  was  most  interesting 
from  the  manner  in  which  it  was  begun,  conducted, 
and  especially  terminated. 

On  the  13th  Mr.  de  Grasse  safely  madehis  fleet  anchor 
under  Nevis,  to  take  in  provisions  from  transports  that 
had  anchored  at  St.  Eustatius  the  day  before,  and 
which  had  come  to  Nevis;  an  operation  that  could 
luive  been  performed  under  sail.  We  accordingly 
anchored  three  leagues  to  the  windward  of  the  Eng- 
lish, without  a  single  frigate  on  the  lookout.     Mr.  de 


104 


OPERATIONS  OP  THE  PRENCH  PLEET 


Vrtudreuil  nnchorod  an  near  the  enemy  as  posHiblc,  so 
as  to  obHen'c  their  movenientH;  but  we  shall  see  Mr. 
Hood  walk  oft'  without  being  in  the  least  interfered 
with. 

On  the  14t]i  wo  took  in  provisions.  At  niglit  the 
English  admiral  kindled  on  shore  fires  corresponding 
to  those  carried  at  the  poop  by  the  commanders  of  the 
three  divisions  of  his  fleet.  lie  cut  liis  cables  and 
started,  leaving  Mr.  de  Grasse  at  his  anchorage,  who 
the  next  day  opened  liis  eyes  to  sec  the  English,  and 
discovered  only  the  coast;  but  he  perceived  the  tops 
of  their  niasts  about  three  leagues  oft*.  So  afraid  were 
we  of  molesting  them  that  we  did  not  even  send  a 
paltry  corvette  to  see  them  take  their  final  departure 
from  this  (pnvrter.  The  people  of  St.  Kitts  had  veiy 
justly  renuirked,  that  those  who  knew  so  well  how  to 
get  in  would  know  how  to  get  out.  Yet  here  was  a 
French  admiral  in  command  of  the  largest  fleet  in 
America  for  nineteen  months. 

On  the  IGth  we  rcoccupied  our  old  anchorage  at  the 
Basse  Terre,  St.  Kitts,  to  reembark  the  troops,  ammu- 
nition, arms  and  prisoners.  I  profited  by  this  delay 
to  visit  the  island,  which  is  the  finest,  most  valuable 
and  best  cultivated  of  the  Windward  Isles.  The  people 
are  mild  and  upright,  and  what  is  extraordinaiy  in 
this  country,  they  are  moral.  It  nmst  be  admitted 
that  the  EiigUsh  arc  the  nation  who  do  best  in  the 
West  Indies;  and  in  fact  we  would  do  well  to  go  and 
take  a  few  lessons  from  these  haughty  islanders.    T  saw 


UNDER  THE  COUNT   DE  OHASSE. 


105 


the  tronelios  of  tho  Frencli  ^uiiurul  opoiiud  under 
the  oiiumy'H  nose,  and  wont  up  to  Drinitttono  Jlill, 
Two  roudri  lead  to  the  Hunmiit  of  tli'iH  nioniu,  foi-ti- 
fied  with  a  triple  work  on  two-thirdn  of  the  circuni- 
forence;  the  iirHt  is  a  kind  of  fauase  brai/,  all  divided 
into  eurtainH  and  1>aHtionH,  or  denii-haHtionn,  well 
mounted  with  artillery,  even  large  cannon  and  niort- 
arH.  The  interior  is  full  of  elevationn,  which  com- 
mand each  other.  The  works  were  not  much  heaten 
down,  when  tliree  thousand  men  ca[titulated  after 
three  weeks  open  tronchcH. 

On  the  17th  the  frigate  Aigrette  took  a  vessel 
carrying  two  hundred  wounded  Knglish,  badly  sup- 
plied with  provisions.  If  she  had  been  kept  long  at 
sea,  the  poor  fellows  would  certainly  have  died  of 
liunger  or  Jumped  overboard.  This  is  u  spei'imon  of 
English  humanity. 

On  the  19th  the  Aigrette  left  for  Kranite  with  dis- 
patches from  the  two  commanders,  which  were  cer- 
tainly received  in  a  very  diiterent  numner. 

On  the  20th  wo  hoisted  sail  and  steere«l  for 
Capture  of 

Moii»errat.  Martinique.  The  22d  and  25Jd  were  spent  in 
taking  Monserrat  and  in  deciding  the  lot  of  the  inhabit- 
ants. M.  do  liarras  was  employed  on  this  little  expedi- 
tion, during  which  we  were  lying  to  under  the  island. 
On  the  26th  at  8  a.  m.,  the  fleet  anchored  at  Fort 
Royal,  Martinique.  Each  vessel  <lid  its  best  to  refit; 
an  opemtion  wliich  was  badly  done,  the  colony  being 
destitute  of  everything.  During  our  stay  in  this  roa<l- 
14 


106 


OPERATIONS   OF   THE   FRENril    FLEET 


Htt'jul  wo  iiiul,  iiH  UHual,  till'  n'poatcd  vinit  of  iiii  Kn^liHli 
fri^Rte.  Thi'ir  fli'ct  arrivod  at  St.  Lncin  without  any 
o|)))OHitioii  t'i'oiii  IIS,  and  Lord  Uodiu-y  uIho  arrived 
tliore  with  hcvoii  vcshoIh  from  Kiiroiu",  having  Ml  hin 
ooiivoy  at  Marhath)CH.  SSt'voral  vi'hkcIh  from  Franco 
readied  uh  too,  <-ommnii(h>d  by  Mr.  Mitton,  who 
brought  iirt  tlie  lon^  deHired  convoy,  and  wan  very 
near  hein^  taken  by  the  Kn»riish  as  he  eame  to 
land.  The  eommanderH  received  by  tliene  vessels 
orders  to  celebnite  a  double  holiday,  for  the  birth  of 
tho  dauphin,  and  for  the  cajiture  of  Yorktown. 

The  tirst  fete  wan  jriven  by  (Jeiieral  de  Mouille.  All 
the  jfenteel  people  of  Martini(pie  Wi'ie  invited.  At  the 
morning  uun  all  flu-  venni'ls  were  dressed  with  tlajfs 
(which  is  (h)ne  by  fastening  to  the  rijf^injf  all  the  Hajys 
on  board,  so  as  to  form  certain  desis;ns).  Xiifhtfall 
was  the  time  when  the  Tc  Dcutn  was  chanted.  Three 
thousand  men  were  imiler  arms,  and  the  troops  at 
Fort  Bourbon  formed  a  ^roiip  on  the  ramj)arts,  which, 
liirhted  up  bv  the  musketrv  and  artillerv,  was  verv 
fine.  The  infantry  bcijan  by  a  sieneral  discharge, 
followed  by  all  the  artillery  of  the  fort,  answered 
by  the  fleet,  each  vessel  tiring  '1\  guns.  There  were 
three  successive  discharg«'s  in  the  same  way.  All  the 
])eo]tle  assembled  on  the  savannah  or  s(|uare,  where 
some  poor  tireworks  were  set  ott",  whi<'h  the  people  of 
the  i^'land  thouirht  very  tine.  The  city  was  illuminated  ; 
the  government  house  with  great  taste.  All  the  better 
class  vho  were  invited  to  the  ball  proceeded  to  the  genu- 


\V 


•-J-  I  'i^ifc Af iaKia^^g^* i' jg^fcf-w-j^**  J <  - 


UNDKR   THE   COUNT    I)E  GRASSK. 


107 


rnln.  M.  do  <  Ji'iiKHi' aixl  Mnio.  <Ut  Itoiiillu  oponod  it. 
It  WUM  vory  Itrilliaiitiii  point  ot'iiiiinlKM-H  niid  (Ii-ohh,  liiit 
not  in  nittttiT  of  lu-uiity  ;  for  the  creolo  women  arc  all 
UKb'«  ^''*''  *''^'  yi'""W  complexion  of  the  eountry. 
They  are,  to«>,  very  ill  numnered.  AccuHtomed  to 
Hpeak  to  their  nlavex,  they  have  a  certain  tone  which 
they  can  never  drop,  with  no  education  either,  tinloss 
they  have  heen  to  France,  which  they  leave  reluct- 
antly after  Hpendin;;  Home  time  there. 

A    hroad    path    in    M.    de    Houille'H  garden    was 
tented  over;  platen  net  for  one  hundred  and  twenty; 
a   himdred    lij^hted   tai»ern   formed    within    the   tent 
Hcattered  groupH,    the   effect  of  which  was  pleasing. 
All    the   seats   except    six   were    taken    hy   women, 
who    ate    like    ogres,    and   who,    after  tilling   their 
Htonnichs,  filled  their  pockets  also,  and  did  it  with  the 
more  gusto,  as  all  on  the  tahle  was  excellent.    A  truce 
was  put  to  their  pleasures  for  half  an  hour,  after  which 
the  hall  recommenced;  not,  however,  to  last  long,  for 
at   three   o'clock   there   was  no  one  left  except  the 
gamesters,  who  did  not  retire  till  eight.     This  is  the 
country  where  gaming  is  most  in  vogue;  every  one 
plays,  and  what  is  more,  plays  high.     1  saw  several 
parties  where  nothing  hut  Us  portUi/auses  were  played. 
The  next  day  a  frigate  came  from  St.  Lucia  under  a 
white  flag,   hringing  fifty  prisoners,   who  were  ex- 
changed.   Rodney,  Hood,  and  several  English  officers, 
sent  delicacies  to  M.  de  Grasse,  de  Yaudreuil,  and 
otliers,  and  we  sent  in  return  sonie  of  the  liquors  of 


i!  5i 


108 


OPKItATIONS  OP   THE   FHENCII    PI.EET 


thp  Widow  AmphouHHo  (if  Murtini(|U(',  which  thcv 
]>ri7.(>  hi^iily.  'l'li<>  achiiinil  h*>^^i>(l  the  o<iiiiiiiaii(lor 
of  tli(>  t'ri^nto  to  toil  Mi.  Kodiicy  tliut  iu;  invited  liiiii 
and  tlio  ofHcerH  of  hiH  tloot  to  come  and  partifipato  in 
till'  ft'Htivitii'H  and  pioaHnivH  jjoing  on  in  the  colony, 
and  that  he  would  Heiid  paMHportri.  I'he  ineirhantH  of 
8t.  Pierre  jfave  Hplendid  enterf.ii  nii!nt-»,  and  after 
them  M.  de  (JrasMe  jjave  hit-  ivhi'  h  \»u.  like  M.  do 
Uouille'rt,  except  that  the  wojiteii  w.>pe  a  little  coarner, 
and  Htufted  their  iiock«  {.*  more;  for  they  carried  oft* 
bottlert  of  li(iuor.  one  oi  which  breaking  in  a  heauty'K 
pocket,  hIic  tied  from  the  hall  room,  more  annoyed  at 
her  drertH  hein^  Hpoiled  than  at  the  odor  dittuned  hy 
the  liquor.  The  otKcers  laughed  heartily,  hut  the 
women,  who  feared,  perhapn,  that  the  name  might 
liappen  to  themselvcH,  comminHcrated  her  loudly. 

The  French  and  Kj»f;liHh  tleetH  having  greatly  in- 
creartc*!,  it  will  douhtloHs  he  agreeahio  to  see  at  a 
glance  their  rewpective  forcCH.  The  engagements  of 
April  J>  and  12  are  of  Hufticient  interent  to  give  the 
luimcK  of  the  vesHelrt  and  captaiuH  of  the  two  nationA 
who  took  part  in  this  action. 


iiai 


FNDKR    THE   COUNT   DR  ORASSE. 


109 


HTA»«    OP    THK 

KNOUIKH     1 

1  KRT 

IN    TIIK    KNOAtlKMKNTH, 

APKII.   M   AND   12 

,   17H2. 

Veisel. 

Force, 

('oiiiniiindnd  by 

Kormidiildo, 

»8 

Adjiiiml  Kodncy. 

Nuiuur^ 

m 

KaiiNltuw. 

I'riiK«  (ieorjff, 

ItH 

Hiilfinir.' 

Duke, 

DO 

1^-  Sauiuel  Hood  ' 

Barttetir, 

\H) 

H...d.' 

C'oiHjueror, 

74 

Balfour. 

FUUK>, 

74 

Ii»rl>>r. 

Ari'ojfuiit, 

74 

r<»rni  h. 

lit  n-uloH, 

74 

Si..va|pe. 

Murlborough, 

74 

!'  -any. 

Anson, 

04 

J      ,r. 

I'rotheu, 

04 

Bticknur. 

Yanu'mth, 

04 

IRfc-nr. 

Nonsu'li, 

04 

T:         (»tt. 

Warrii)/', 

74 

Sir    sMiies  Wallace. 

I'rincoHf*, 

74 

Sai,      1  Drake. 

IJcdfonl 

74 

Com     lodore  Affleck 

Centaur. 

74 

Inglrf  '!ld. 

Ajux, 

74 

Charri'      on. 

Invincibk'. 

74 

Jaxtun. 

Alfred, 

74 

Bayne. 

Torbay, 

74 

Gidoin. 

■  Several  of   'lese  names aru  incorrect,     Tliis  should  be  J,  Williams. 
In  subsequent  notes  other  errors  are  thus  corrected, 

'  Alan.  Clardner,  '  Sii'  Samuel  llood. 


110 


OPEKATIONS   OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


>ii 


Vessel.                           Force. 

Coinmanileil  by 

Resolution,                   74 

Lt.  Robert  Manners. 

Shrewsbury,                 74 

Knedget. 

Canada,                        74 

Earl  Cornvvallis.' 

Montagu,                     74 

Reduelas.'' 

A  Icicle,                         74 

C.  Thoinp.><on. 

Russell,                         74 

Saumarez. 

Robust,                         74 

Crosby. 

Valiant,                        74 

Baredney.-* 

Intrepide,                     (54 

Molly. 

RepuKsf,                         ()4 

Dumaresq. 

Royal  Oak,                   74 

Adenival.^ 

J5oHi(|Ueux,                   ti4 

Camton.* 

St.  Albans,                  64 

Inglis. 

Prince  William,           64 

Wilkinson. 

Trudcnt,                       64 

Barclay. 

America,                      64 

S.  Thompson.* 

They  had,  moreover,  lo^ 

frigates,  and  had  detached 

six  vessels;  265»S  pieces  ot" 

cannon,  besides  those  of 

the  frigates. 

'  Hon.  William  Coriiwiillis. 

'  Bowfii. 

•■'  Gootlall. 

*  Uurnet  coniiiiaudeJ  this  vessel.  What  imme  wh»  meant  in  the  test 
I  do  not  know. 

'  Sutherland  uoniniandcd  the  lifltiqiirui. 

•The  Eiijilisli  list  has  also  \\\e  Monarch,  74,  Reynolds;  tiie  Agamem- 
non, (U,  Caldwell;  mid  Mni/nijicent,  74,  Linsee ;  but  not  the  Jnvinci/jle, 
Hobusl  and  Intrepide. 

'  Knglinh  accouiiln  xay  14. 


UN 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


Ill 


STATE    OF   THE   FRENCH    FLEET    IN    THE   ENGAGEMENTS    OF 
APRIL   9   AND    12,    1782. 


VAN  GUARD. 

Vessel. 

She. 

Captain. 

Pluto, 

74 

D' Albert  de  Ri  -s. 

Marseilluis, 

74 

Castellaue.' 

Coiiqu6rant, 

74 

La  Grandi^re.^ 

Caton, 

64 

de  Framont. 

Bourgogue, 

74 

Charite.3 

Triomplmut, 

80 

Count  de  Vaudreuil 

Magnifique, 

74 

de  Macarty.^ 

Reflec'hy, 

64 

do  Medine." 

Magnanime, 

74 

Le  Begue." 

'  De  Castellane  Majasiro  was  made  commodore  Nov.  1,  1780. 

»  Charles  Mario,  Count  de  la  Grandi^re,  was  born  at  Brest  in  1720. 
After  43  years'  service,  28  at  sea,  he  was  made  commodore,  Aug.  20, 
1784.  He  had  then  been  present  in  eleven  naval  engagements.  He  bo- 
came  rear-adniiral  in  1702,  !knd  died  at  Rennes  in  1812.  His  grandson, 
captain  of  a  ninn-of-war,  recently  commanded  the  French  division  off 
Ihccoast  of  Syria. — liiographie  lirctonite,  Klal  de  la  France  tie  Maroquier. 

'  Do  Chariite  was  made  commodore  Nov.  1,  1780,  and  commanded  the 
ninth  squadron  in  1780,  rear-admiral  in  1702. 

*  Macteigue  de  Macarty,  a  brother  of  the  celebrated  Jesuit  preacher, 
one  of  the  ornaments  of  the  modern  French  pulpit,  was  born  in  Dub- 
lin in  1700,  son  of  Count  Justin  MaoCarthy  and  Mary  Winifred  Tuite. 
After  the  defeat  of  de  Ornsso,  he  sailed  with  Vaudreuil  to  Boston, 
where  his  vessel  was  lost  on  Lovjl's  Island.  Ho  was  then  appointed 
to  tiie  America,  a  vessel  presented  by  congress.  In  178')  he  was  major- 
general  of  the  marine  and  of  the  squadrons  at  Rochefort. 

'  De  M^dine  was  chief  of  division  at  Brest  in  1789. 

«  Le  Bdgue  was  made  commodore  in  1780. 


112 


OPERATIONS  OP  THE  FRENCH  FLEET 


Vessel. 

Size. 

Ciiptain. 

Due  (Ic  Bourgogi 

us  80 

DespiuousHO. 

Dorttiu, 

74 

(le  Goiinpy. 

DiadSme, 

74 

do  Monteclerc. 

CENTRAL 

DIVISION. 

Glor'mir, 

74 

Desears. 

Scei)trc, 

74 

Marquis  de  Vaudreuil. 

L'Eveill6, 

(54 

xle  Tilly.' 

(youroiinc, 

80 

Mithoii.2 

Ville  de  Paris, 

104 

Count  de  Grasse,  admiral 

Lnuguedoc, 

80 

Daross.* 

Datjphi'   Koyal, 

70 

Mon])eroii. 

6V.wr, 

74 

Dc  MarUpiji. 

llt'ctor, 

74 

La  Vicomfe. 

REAR 

GUARD. 

.7a.90'/(, 

G4 

de  Vilajje." 

Citovcti, 

74 

mw. 

'  Chovnlier  Lc  Oardcur  de  Tilly  was  Apparently  a  Cannilinn  of  the 
Tilly  branch  of  llic  family  of  Le  Onrdeur.  The  M.  de  Si.  Pierre, 
whom  Wagliington  met  on  tlie  Ohio  in  1753,  was  of  the  other  brancli, 
the  Le  Onrdeur  de  Repontigny.  Le  (iardciir  de  Tilly  had,  in  1781, 
piiritiied  Arn(dd  in  the  Chenapfake,  taken  the  Roviulut,  44,  and  several 
tranHportM.  In  17HUhe  was  commandant  of  the  eighth  squadron,  at 
Rochcfort,  and  commodore. 

'  De  Milhon  dc  Penonilly,  and  the  Baron  d'Arros  d'Argelos,  reached 
the  grade  of  commodore,  Aug.  20,  1784. 

'  In  1789  de  VillagCM  was  a  commodore.  He  also  commanded  the 
seventh  stjuadron. 


UNDER  THE  COUNT  DE  GRASSE. 


113 


Brave, 

74 

d'Amblimont' 

Scipion, 

74 

de  Clavel.' 

Ardent, 

66 

de  Gouzillon. 

zm, 

74 

de  Pr^ville. 

Augusto, 

80 

de  Bougainville. 

Northumberland, 

74 

de  St.  C^saire. 

Palmier, 

74 

de  Martilly. 

Souvei'aiu, 

74 

de  Glandvese.^ 

Neptune, 

74 

Dalins. 

Ilercule, 

74 

La  Cloeheteric* 

"We  had  alao  six  frigates;  the  St.  Esprit,  of  80 
guns,  was  not  with  us,  and  on  the  12th  we  had  not 
the  Z^li,  Caton,  nor  Jaso7i ;  1974  cannon,  without  the 
frigates,  in  the  affair  of  the  9th,  and  only  1772  in  that 
of  April  12. 

On  the  9th  we  had  724  guns  less  than  the  English, 
and  on  the  12th,  926.  In  the  first  engagement  there 
were  4672  pieces  of  artillery  in  use,  and  in  that  of  the 
12th  only  4470. 

'  Fuschemberg,  Coun!  d'Amblimont,  General  de  Marine,  was  a 
commodore  in  1784 ;  but  on  the  brealcing  out  of  the  French  revolu- 
tion, entered  the  Spanish  service,  and  was  killed  in  February,  1797,  in 
the  battle  gained  by  Lord  St.  Vincent. 

"  The  Chevalier  Clavel  was  on  the  retired  list  in  1789. 

'  De  Glandvese  was  rear  admiral  in  1792. 

*  The  vessels  in  italics  were  taken  in  the  action  of  April  12ih,  or 
just  after  it,  and  the  captains  in  italics  killed. 

Chaudeau  de  la  Clochcterie,  killed  in  this  last  action  of  the  war,  was 
a  highly  distinguished  oflBcer,  and  opened  the  war  in  the  Belle  Poule 
by  his  brilliant  action  with  the  Arethusa,  Marshall,  in  the  face  of  an 
Knglish  fleet.  He  commanded  the  Jason,  04,  in  the  fleet  of  De  Ternay, 
which  brought  out  Kochanibeau ;  and  in  the  skirmish  with  Commodore 
Cornwallis  would  have  taken  the  Ruhit,  but  for  De  Ternay's  excessive 
prudence. 

If) 


114 


OPERATIONS  OP   THE  FRENCH   FLEET 


April  8. 


I     1 

! 

I 


h 


On  the  8th  of  April,  at  7,  the  convoy 
was  under  sail,  escorted  hy  the  Sagittaire  and 
Experiment.  At  10  the  fleet  was  also  under  way; 
two  English  vessels  and  a  frigate  were  watching  us  as 
we  started.'  Rodney  had,  the  same  day,  sent  out  a 
convoy,  escorted  hy  six  vessels  of  the  line  and  two 
frigates.  As  we  made  show  of  giving  chase  to  the 
reconnoitering  vessels  they  returned  to  St.  Lucia, 
where  they  announced  our  movements.  As  soon  as 
the  fleet  was  out  we  took  the  starboard  tack,  the  con- 
voy keeping  ahead  and  hugging  the  wind  as  much  as 
possible.  During  the  night  we  perceived  the  enemy's 
fleet. 

6th combat,    O"  the  9th,  at  early  dawn,  the  rear  frigate 
''"  signalle<l    sails,    which  prove<\  to    be  the 

English  fleet.  "We  were  then  under  Dominica,  con- 
founded with  our  convoy  and  becalmed.  Our  van, 
however,  being  at  the  mouth  of  the  channel,  to  wind- 
ward of  the  enemy,  and  we  all  having  got  in  order, 
Mr.  de  Grasse  made  a  signal  for  close  action,  while  M. 
dc  Vaudreuil  bore  down  directly  on  the  first  vessel  of 
the  English  line,  which  had  already  begun  to  fire  on 
the  convoy,  and  forced  it  to  hold  up  and  even  to  bear 
away.  Thus  far  the  enemy's  fleet  was  in  good  order ; 
the  French  van  had  now  rallied  around  their  commo- 


'  One  of  these  wns  the  Andromachr,  Capt.  Byron,  an  active,  bridle 
and  intelligent  officer. — Lobd  Kodnky,  April  14, 1782. 


\l 


UNDER  THE  COUNT  DE  GKASSE. 


115 


dore,  when  we  tacked  and  were  consequently  ranged 
in  the  opposite  order,  steering  with  difficulty,  but  we 
soon  after  regained  the  weather-gage  oft'  Dominica 
channel;  then  our  van,  which  had  become  our  rear 
guard,  attacked  the  English,  who  were  becalmed  ex- 
cept their  van,  now  also  a  rear  guard.  We  took  the 
same  tack  (starboard)  that  they  did.  M.  de  Vaudreuil 
signalled  to  bear  down  on  the  enemy,  which  his 
squadron  did.  (M.  de  Grasse  had  placed  in  the 
squadi'on  all  the  captains  who  had  not  displeased 
during  the  cruise,  or  those  who  he  knew  preferred 
their  duty  to  their  resentment.)  The  action  began  at 
10,'  and  tlie  fire  began  at  rifle  distance.  This  aft'aii-, 
of  which  there  has  been  no  detail  in  France,  could 
not  have  been  more  hotly  contested  than  it  was  for 
three  hours  and  a  half,  between  the  two  vans.  The 
English  van  suttered  extremely,  for  six  of  their  ves- 
sels lost  their  top-gallants  and  two  their  main  top- 
masts.'' Very  few  vessels  of  the  other  divisions, 
either  French  or  English,  took  part  in  this  action, 
firing  a  little  indeed,  but  too  far  oft".  The  Caton  having 
had  the  misfortune  to  have  a  cannon  burst  on  board, 
which  put  eighty  men  hors  de  combat.  We  lost  in  this 
aft'air  five  officers  and  120  men.     The  English  lost 


'Oh.  30'. 

'  The  Royal  Oak  and  Montagu  were  disabled,  and  the  Alfred  lost  her 
captain,  lia^'iio.     History  of  the    War  in  Amerien,  iii,  354. 


116 


OPERATIONS  OP  THE  PRENCH  PLEET 


rather  more  than  we  did.*  The  Augusie  and  tlic  ZiU 
were  in  the  rear  of  our  fleet,  which  served  as  an  ex- 
cuse for  M.  de  Grasse,  who  should  have  brought  the 
English  to  a  general  engagement,  for  he  had  the 
weather-gage,  with  a  fresh  wind,  which  they  had  not. 
Should  he  not  Lave  attacked  their  van  with  all  his 
forces  ?  Surely  fourteen  vessels  could  not  have  stood 
the  tire  of  thirty-four;  and  this  division  of  their  fleet 
would  have  been  destroyed  before  it  could  have  been 
relieved  by  the  other  division  of  the  fleet,  which  was 
in  a  dead  calm ;  then  fall  on  the  detached  vessels  of 
the  centre  one  after  the  other,  and  lie  would  have  had 
them  at  his  own  terms,  as  Mr.  Rodney  showed  him 
three  days  after.'' 

A  man  must  be  unfortunate  enough,  it  must  bo  ad- 
mitted, to  let  such  fine  occasions  slip ;  but,  though  our 
admiral  might  entertain  fears  for  the  two  rear  vessels, 
the  English  were  becalmed,  and  we  would  have  so  cut 
up  their  van,  and  even  their  center,  as  to  deprive 
them  of  all  idea  of  picking  up  our  laggards,  wlio  had 
Dominica  and  Martinique  to  put  in  to.  Nothing  in 
my  opinion  can  excuse  Admiral  de  Grasse  in  this 
affair,  from  which  he  might  have  derived  the  greatest 
honor.  During  the  action  the  convoy  was  anchored 
at  Guadaloupe,   where  it  was  certainly  secure.    It 

I  For  Rodney's  account  of  this  action,  see  Appendix. 

'For  a  defence  of  de  Grasse's  conduct  on  thin  occasion  see  the  fol- 
lowing journal. 


i;-i'>i£U^»«;^&'jf^..^.^ji^r{Ldi'. 


UNDER   TUB   COUNT   DE  GKASSE. 


i\ 


fHaCH  FLtCT. 


...^y 


m.Mi. 


Action  of  April  Otli. 


u:' 

M>UTH  PI  OF  GUAWLOUPB 


/l 


T^^' 


/ 


117 


Ilk.  »m. 


\^  PRINCE  RUPERfsBAV./  ° 


// 


Action  of  April  12th. 


;»-  ) 


' 


UNDER  THE  COUNT   I)E  0RAS8E. 


119 


Bccms  at  for  the  four  lant  montliB  that  M.  do  OraHHO 
commanded,  Iuh  only  care  was  to  commit  tlio  /<roatcBt 
blunders.  The  only  advantage  we  derived  from  thiH 
affair  wan,  that  the  field  of  battle  waH  left  to  um  ;  a 
very  trifling  advantage  at  sea.  The  prenervation  of 
our  convoy  is  indeed  one.  It  sailed  next  day  from 
Guadaloupe  for  Cap  Francois,  and  it  ha<l  tlie  goo<l 
fortune  not  to  be  molested  on  its  route.  The  Cato7i 
also  Icfl  us  in  the  evening  and  anchored  at  tlie  Ihisso 
Terre  of  Guadaloupe,  after  receiving  the  admiral's 
orders. 

On  the  10th  we  lost  sight  of  the  English,  and  wo 
hugged  the  wind  so  as  to  double  the  channel  of 
Saintes. 

On  the  11th  we  were  engaged  in  tlie  same  mancrni- 
vre.  The  Z^U  ran  foul  of  the  Jason  and  rendered 
her  unable  to  keep  the  sea.  She  then  ran  into  several 
others.  I  believe,  indeed,  that  all  on  board  of  her  had 
lost  their  senses.  She  at  last  ran  into  the  Ville  de 
Paris,  and  in  tliis  collision  lost  lier  bowsprit  and  fore- 
mast. A  frigate  had  to  take  her  in  tow  for  the  liasso 
Terre  at  Guadaloupe,  and  then  it  was  an  incredible 
time  before  she  ran  her  cables  through  the  hawse 
holes.  It  is  impossilde  to  behave  worse  than  this 
vessel  did  from  the  8th  till  the  morning  of  the  12th. 
She  brought  on  the  hottest,  longest  and  most  terrible, 
and  I  may  say  the  most  dishonorable  sea-fight  since 
the  invention  of  gunpowder. 


tiiM^i^hMt*^i'MMtaU'^ 


N 


120 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH   FLEET 


7«h  combat,  ^"  ^l>c  12t)),  nt  dnybroalc,  the  king's  fleet 
*"  ■  being  un<ler  Marie  Ujilnnte,  wo  perceived 
t}»c  Z^l^  dirinuiKted  tliree  longueH  to  our  leeward,  and 
the  Ville  de  Paris  at  one  league.  At  the  same  time  wo 
discovered  the  Englinh  van  trying  to  done  witli  the 
^W.'  Mr.  do  GrasHo  then  nuide  the  Hignul  to  clear  for 
nc*ion  and  form  in  line  in  inverHO  order.  As  may  bo 
BuppoHcd,  from  our  trying  to  double  a  channel,  wo 
were  in  the  greatest  disorder.  The  signal  was  exe- 
cuted by  crowding  sail  and  by  taking  the  opposite 
tack  from  ^Se  Englisa  fleet.  Then  it  was  that  Mr.  de 
Pavilion,'  i»«*  officer  of  the  greatest  merit,  forseeing 
the  result,  and  the  blunder  about  to  bo  committed  if 
these  sigiuils  were  made,  twice  sent  the  adjutant  of 
the  lYiomphant  to  distinguish  the  colors  of  the  flags; 
and  when  lie  confirmed  the  fact  that  they  really  pro- 
scribed the  mantpuvres  in  question,  tluit  excellent 
oflftcer,  losing  his  temper,  went  aloft  himself,  tried  tM'o 
glasses,  and  exclaimed:  "Wretched  day!"  Then 
turning  to  Mr.  de  Vaudreuil  he  said:  "General,  you 
are  going  to  see  a  terrible  affair,  which  will  be  most 
disastrous  to  France."     The  French  fleet  kept  form- 


I  The  ensuing  account  throws  less  blame  on  the  ZH^,  of  whose  com- 
mander, de  Prdville,  I  find  no  further  note. 

'John  Francis  du  Cbeyron  du  Pavilion,  born  at  P^rigueux  Sept,  20, 
1730,  entered  the  army  at  fifteen  as  sub-lieutenant,  but  at  eighteen  en- 
tered the  navy,  and  soon  became  the  superintendent  of  instruction  of 
the  younger  officers.  He  wrote  a  work  on  naval  tactics,  published  in 
1778;  introduced  a  system  of  signals  by  day  and  night.  He  com- 
manded several  vessels  with  distinction,  and  fell  on  the  fatal  12th  of 
April,  1782. 


UNDER  TliT 


'ITT   DE 


121 


inpf,  iicccuHarily  to  the  wind.ard  vi  llic  enemy's  line. 
At  7J}0  the  fire  he^un,  nnd  Hoon  after  we  were  })C- 
cahned  under  Doiiiinieu;  an  event  that  M.  de  GraHsc 
should  have  foreHeen,  an  there  is  rarely  any  wind 
under  the  inles,  which  are  extremely  elevated.  From 
tlie  Ktato  of  the  fleotB  as  given  ahove,  it  will  he  seen 
that  the  Kiiglinh  had  !)2t)  p*  ces  of  cannon  over  us 
when  we  engaged  in  the  most  disastrous  of  pea  tights. 
We  ran  along  the  English  line  till  the  moment  when 
the  GlortcHX  was  run  into  hy  Lord  Rodney's  forward 
seeouil,  a  thrcc-deeker  of  ninety  guns,  which  threw 
her  tliree  nuists  overhoard  and  swept  lier  elean  as  a 
I)onto()n.  This  was  the  tirst  place  where  our  line  was 
l)roken,'  for  the  calm  that  held  lis  gave  tliem  great 
advantage,  and  enahled  them  to  hreak  through  our 
line  in  three  places;  and  they  threw  it  into  a  confusion 
that  M.  de  (Irasse  nuule  no  attempt  to  remedy.*     The 

'TIiIh  oxplnitiN  how  Uodney  was  iiblo  to  effect  the  operation  wliich 
hruiight  him  no  mucli  glory.  Am  noon  as  ho  saw  the  brench  he  kept  a 
cloNO  luff  niiil  paNHvil  Ihrougli.  All  now  admit  that  the  iniinoeuvre  was 
not  (leliheralely  planned,  although  the  advocates  uf  Uodney  so  claimed. 

''The  latu  (Nimniandcr  Ward,  in  bia  masterly  work  on  naval  tactics, 
diN(!ii)tNing  IhiN  notion,  xiiys  that  the  only  advantage  that  this  inove- 
niuiit  gave  the  Knglixh  wau  that  it  attacked  the  unprepared  side  of  the 
Fi'flnoli  ri>ar,  and  that  if  De  Grassc  with  his  roar  following  had  luffed 
to  loutvard  of  the  KngliHli  rear,  engaging  it  closely  and  continuously 
with  liiN  pont  liiitiuriuM,  Kodney's  manoeuvre  would  have  been  fruitless. 
liiKloatl  of  liugging  to  his  enemy  however,  De  Orasso  most  unwisely 
and  riiiiiiuiHly  bore  up,  and  endeavored  to  escape  on  a  line  at  right 
nngloN  III  hiN  I'oriiior  line.  On  which,  the  English  rear  steered  oft' on 
a  parallel  course  before  the  wind,  and  the  English  van  wore  round, 
thiiH  taking  the  French  rear  between  two  fires,  making  defeat  abso- 
lutely aiiniliilaling:  when,  had  he  fought  it  out  instead  of  trying  to 
escape,  ho  would  in  nil  probability  have  avoided  any  considerable 
Itijury. 

16 


122 


Ol'KRATIONS   OF   THE    KHENCH    FLEET 


liiH  Hoi^t,  and  liml  iiIwuvh  Ht'tcni  oi 


ty  vchhoIm  in 


Kiijk^lish  iitlmirul,  on  tlio  otiior  IuukI,  rcHtorcd  onlor  in 

twoni 

iiiif.  Till'  (Hor'anx  liuvin^  hci'ii  iliHiuuHtoii,  t'l'll  U  Ice- 
wui'd,  and  wan  at  tin*  saint'  tinii>  nnrronndc*!  by  tho 
oni-niv.  Our  udniimi,  followi'd  l»v  two  or  tliri'c  voh- 
HL'Irt,  wt>nt  to  its  roliof  and  trii'd  to  navo  it,  hut  nil  in 
vain,  [n  thin  sad  jiliirht  it  roccivcd  a  torrildc  renewal 
ot'tirt',  wliirh  it  answi-rcd  so  violontly  that  wo  thouirht 
tlu'v  had  sot  it  on  tiro,  xmnyr  all  thoir  irnns.  It 
n'tardod  hy  this  moans  tlio  loss  of  tho  vossol,  hut  un- 
tortunatoly  only  for  a  jnoinont.  Tho  fri,i;ato  liichemont 
took  hor  in  tow  and  had  drawn  her  otf  al»out  half  a 
U'aijjuo  whon  tho  otfioor  in  oonunand  of  tho  Glorinix 
sooinj;  tho  ononiys  hullots  niruin  pourinjf  in,  losing  all 
hopo  of  osoa[io  and  not  wishiiii;  tho  frigato  sunk  or 
takon,  sooing  ttto  that  sho  would  not  ahandon  him, 
hiuHolf  cut  the  tow-Iim-.  In  hor  disniastini;,  this  vessel 
had  lost  her  oaptain,  tho  hrave  antl  untirin<;  Baron  Dog- 
ears, many  of  hor  ottioors,  and  a  groat  jiart  of  hor  crew.' 
During  this  time  wo  kept  fighting  on,  somotimoH 
with  <»no  vessel,  Hometinios  with  three,  often  with 
two.  Oooasionally  the  tiro  would  hold  up  for  tiftoon 
minutes,  hut  only  to  hogin  again  more  violently. 
Tho  Mar(|iiis  do  N'audrouil,  always  in  the  hottest  of 
the  tiro,  rallied  his  division  as  well  as  ho  could.  At 
2,  the  Cesar  finding  herself  to  tlio  windward  of  our 
fleet  was  surrounded  hv  tho  ononiv,  and  after  a 
bloody  aotictn  was  foired  to  ntriko,  having  hor  eap- 


'  She  w««  taken  poasei<8ion  of  by  ilie  fiui/al  Oak, 


UNDKR   THE   COUNT   DE  fiRASSE. 


123 


tain,  Mr.  tlt>  Mnrii^ny,  mortally  woitixU-d,  aiul  having 
loHt  ft  jfri'at  niHiiy.  M.  dc  (JraHHo  lia<l  loHt  lii«  witH; 
mad*'  no  niori' ni^fnals  ;  Hoiiglit  i>vory  jumt  of  danger, 
tbllowi'd  by  liirt  t\V()  Ht'fondM,  till  tho  Conroimc  al>an- 
(lonecl  him  at  half  pawt  i\.  Tim  Lnnifiifdoi-,  shcatluMi 
with  Wwod  and  two  yoarn  old  at  that,  conld  not  keep 
up  with  tho  copiuT-Hhoatlu'd  Villf  de  J'tiria,  but  it  is 
a  Hcttloil  fact  tliat  tlu'  llaroii  d'Arosn  rotircd  oidy 
with  the  Mar(|niH  di'  Vaudrciiil.  Tho  Hector,  tinding 
luM'Hi'lf  in  tho  midst  of  tlio  oncmy,  Hiiwtaini'd  tlu>  most 
Htuhliorn  and  torriblo  uction  i)o«Hil)U'.  Slu'  looki-'d 
like  u  hhizini;  furnace  vomiting  Hre  and  iroii. 
Aftor  loKing  lu-r  captain,  M.  «U'  la  X'icomte,  with 
six  foet  of  water  in  her  hold  and  incapable  ot 
furtlier  rewintance,  she  struck.'  ,\t  tj  the  Ardent 
was  taken,  and  fought  shortly  before  surrendering.* 
M.  de  (irasse,  still  in  the  midst  of  the  tire.  Inning  ex- 
^  hausted  his  ammunition,  was  forced  to  surreiuler,' 
although  M.  d*'  Vaudreuil  offered  to  take  him  in  tow. 
That  vessel  had  lost  rigging,  sails  and  rudder;  her 
nuists  ready  to  go  by  the  board.  There  was  on  Imard 
the  \  ilk  lie  Paris  a  (|inintity  of  nuuiey  bi^longing  to  the 
merchants  of  the  \Vii\dward  Isles,  and  the  army  chest, 

'  Klie  watt  cngaguil  l>^  iliu  Ali-iile  iiiul  I'untitla  uiid  struck  to  tlie  fur- 
uier. 

'Tiikoii  1)^  tilt"  Hellii/iiiiij-. 

'Tlie  Vil/i'  lie  I'lirin  w(i8  eiigngeil  by  iIip  Canndu  nnil  /{unnrH,  wlipn 
llic  liiirflfur  came  up  iiiiil  poured  m  n  brondsiile  I'roiii  tlie  stern,  lloss, 
in  Ills  Ufe  of  Sauninrez  snys  I  lint  tlio  Jitiifell,  .^auiiinroz'si  vessel, 
engaged  lier  firfl. 


/-N^ 


124 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH  FLEET 


a  circumstance  which  heighteued  the  dishonor  of  see- 
ing the  admiral  taken.  '       '    !'   ^.-  i'  ».  "t+ii/^^ 

M.  de  Vaudreuil  elSected  the  retreat  of  the  fleet 
with  his  squadron,  which  was  in  the  centre  of  the 
angle  of  chase  formed  by  the  English,  and  which 
Rear  Admiral  Hood  wished  to  close.  We  certainly 
could  not  have  escaped  had  not  Rodney  twice  opposed 
this  manoeuvre,  saying  that  a  bridge  of  gold  must  be 
left  a  flying  foe.  Before  striking,  M.  de  Grasse  made 
the  signal  of  sauve  qui  peut.   The  action  ended  at  7.32. 

M.  de  Martelly,  commanding  the  Palmier,  had 
struck,  but  the  English  prize  crew  on  the  Cesar  having 
got  drunk  and  set  her  on  fire,'  he  took  it  for  the 
f'hre^Dsbury.  An  auxiliary  oflicer  then  asked  his  leave  to 
save  the  ship.  M.  de  Martelly,  charmed  with  the  pro- 
posal, told  him  that  he  had  only  to  act  as  he  pleased, 
and  the  oflicer  in  fact  saved  the  vessel.  The  English 
having  opened  the  angle  of  chase,  left  us  at  liberty  to 
retire,  which  we  did  without  noise  or  show  of  light. 

M.  Rodney'  ordered  astern  Mr.  Hood,  who  had 
twice  wished  to  close  the  angle  of  chase.  It  was  for- 
tunate for  us  that  that  oflicer  did  not  command,  as  he 
is  deemed  more  able  than  the  fortunate  Rodney.  We 
lost  in  this  engagement  3500  men,  killed  or  taken, 
and  many  oflicers  of  distinction.    The  English  got  oft' 


>In  the  conflngraiion,  the  survivors  of  her  crew  (Allen  says  400, 
Iliitory  of  the  Civil  War,  in,  256,  200),  with  an  English  lieutenant  and 
60  seamen  perished. 

'Rodney's  account  of  this  his  most  famous  achievement  will  ba 
found  in  the  appendix. 


UNDER   THE   CX)UNT   DE  GRASSE. 


125 


// 


\.  , 


with  1800,  and  many  officers,  and  their  ships  were 
worse  cut  up  than  ours.'  We  sustained  an  irrepara- 
ble loss  in  the  fall  of  Mr.  de  Pavilion,  a  unique  man  : 
the  very  English  regretted  him,  acknowledging  his 
talents.  He  w,o  wounded  early  in  the  action,  and 
died  next  day.  He  had  his  leg  broken.  He  forgot 
his  pain  to  inquire  the  position  of  the  fleets,  which 
were  mingled  together  t.  U  some  of  ours  were  taken 
and  others  drew  off  the  fit'd  of  battle,  when  only  the 
division  of  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  remained  in 
good  order,  not  having  lost  a  vessel  nor  been  veiy 
severely  handled,  although  the  English  stated  in  one 
of  their  reports  that  the  JJiademe  was  sunk. 

I  will  not  omit  the  gallant  manojuvre  made  by  two 
of  our  vessels,  the  Destin  and  the  Magnanime,  which 
followed  each  other.  Seeing  Rodney  bear  down  with 
his  two  seconds,  all  three-deckers,  and  deeming  it  not 
a  time  to  be  at  ease,  the  Destin  bore  up  in  the  face  of 
the  Duke,  poured  in  a  broadside,  not  three  bullets  of 
which  fell  into  the  water ;  then,  keeping  the  wind,  can- 
nonaded her  on  one  side,  while  the  Magnanime  did  as 
much,  till  bearing  down  in  her  turn,  she  swept  the 
J}uke  from  the  stern,  currying  her  two  galleries  over- 
board. This  vessel  was  kept  engaged  by  the  Rejkchy, 
and  Diadime,  and  struck  to  the  Trioinpharit ;  but  M.  de 
Vaudreuil  could  not  man  her,  having  no  boats  nor 
time.     She  had  lost  her  foremast,  which  the  Diademe 


I  The  Englisb  give  their  \om  at  'Ai  othcers  killed  and  wounded,  240 
men  killed,  7*J7  wounded.     Total,  10U9 ;  and  the  French  at  80U0. 


126 


OPERATIONS  OF   THE  FRENCH   FLEET 


shot  away.  Another  English  vessel  also  stnick,  but 
the  same  reasons  prevented  our  taking  it.  At  the 
close  of  the  fight,  the  English  had  eleven  vessels 
under  the  wind  unable  to  molest  us.^  At  night  fall 
each  made  sail  after  his  own  fashion,  executing  ad- 
mirably M.  de  Grasse's  last  signal.* 

A  circumstance  that  heightened  still  more  the  hor- 
ror of  that  day,  was  the  prodigious  number  of  sharks 
that  swarmed  in  the  sea,  and  which  devoured  the  men 
as  soon  as  they  reached  the  water  (for  as  soon  as  a 
man  is  killed  he  is  thrown  overboard).  There  were 
certainly  more  than  a  thousand  of  these  creatures  fol- 
lowing the  vessels  of  the  two  fleets. 

On  the  13th  we  found  five  fugitives  assembled,  and 
the  next  day  we  fell  in  with  Mr.  de  Vaudreuil.  We 
were  then  seventeen :  four  vessels  of  our  rear  guard 
went  to  Cura9oa,  a  Dutch  post,  with  Commodore 
Bougainville.     M.  de  Framont,  captain  commanding 


I  It  was  a  mailer  of  consolation  lo  the  French  llint  England  had  no 
trophies  of  this  victory  ;  for  not  a  vessel  taken  that  day  reached  Eng- 
land. The  Cesar  we  have  seen  was  burnt,  and  on  their  passage  home 
the  Vtllf  de  Parit,  Ileetor  and  Glorieuz  all  foundered.  We,  too,  may 
feel  our  national  pride  relieved,  in  the  fact  that  no  English  crowd 
ever  flocked  to  see  brought  in  as  a  prize  the  vessel  on  which  Washing- 
ton, de  Qrasse,  and  Rocfaambeau  had  met. 

'The  first  news  of  this  action  in  the  United  States,  was  an  account 
in  Rivington's  Royal  Gazelle,  taken  from  the  Antigua  Gazette,  but  it 
was  naturally  received  with  great  doubt;  the  more  especially  as  Captain 
Keane  of  the  llulker  privateer,  who  had  seen  part  of  the  action, 
contradicted  the  English  account.  A  species  of  gambling  at  once  com- 
menced in  the  shape  of  policies  on  the  French  fleet,  warm  Whigs 
insuring  largely  at  high  rates,  and  when  the  news  was  confirmed 
some  were  ruined.     Among  these  were  Blair  McClenachan. 


UNDER   THE  COUNT  DE  GRASSE. 


127 


the  Caton,  imprudently  left  Guadaloupe  with  the  Jason, 
and  they  were  taken  in  the  channel  of  Porto  Rico  by 
an  English  squadron  of  ten  ships  and  a  frigate.* 

The  tidings  of  our  disaster  having  preceded  ua  at 
the  cape,  the  Spanish  ships  which  lay  there,  ten  in 
number,  came  out  to  cover  the  entrance  of  the  king's 
fleet.    I  know  nothing  more  humiliating  than  this. 

We  anchored  accordingly  on  the  26th,  and  found 
already  there  the  Couronne,  Brave,  Due  de  Bourgogne 
and  Magnifiqm.  These  vessels  were  not  in  good  odor 
in  the  fleet,  especially  the  first  two. 

Our  stay  at  the  cape  was  spent  in  refitting,  repairs 
worse  made  than  at  Martinique,  this  colony  being  ac- 
tually destitute  of  everything.  We  formed  however 
sorts  of  shops  to  put  all  in  order  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  the  naval  oflicers  connected  with  the  port  had 
their  hands  full  at  that  time.  M.  de  Mont6clerc  su- 
perintended these  works,  and  it  was  certainly  no  fault 
of  his  that  everything  was  not  put  in  good  condition 
at  the  lea'jt  possible  expense,  and  M.  de  Vaudreuil 
could  not  1.  ave  made  a  better  choice.  The  patriotism 
and  ability  of  this  old  and  excellent  oflS.cer,  had  been 
long  known  in  France ;  the  department  in  which  he 
was,  alone  in  its  jealousy  refused  its  praise,  till  com- 
pelled to  bestow  it,  and  for  once  it  was  just.  But 
after  recognizing  bis  zeal   and  talents,  they  should 


'The  Colon  and  Jaton,  with  the  frigate  Aimable  and  corvette  Ceres 
were  captured  by  Sir  Samuel  Hood  in  the  Barfleur,  with  the  Valiant 
and  Magnificenl. 


1 

( 

/ 

\ 

1 

eK 

H 

■M 

J  li 

^ra 

II 

H 

\i  1 

Bl 

ii'*""* 

m 

■a 

128 


OPERATIONS   OP  THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


have  aspired  to  imitate  him.  M.  de  Bougainville  and 
the  four  vessels  which  went  to  Cura§oa  arrived  at  the 
cape  a  week  after  us ;  the  Auguste  had  been  roughly 
handled,  having  had  80  men  killed  on  hoard ;  and  the 
Hercule  having  lost  her  captain  M.  de  la  Clocheterie. 
They  brought  back  from  that  emporium,  cordage 
which  we  greatly  needed,  the  rigging  of  the  fleet 
being  cut  up. 

M.  de  Mont6clerc  effected  the  repairs  so 
promptly  that  on  the  30th  of  May  we  sent 
out  a  convoy  escorted  by  the  Saint  Esprit,  which  liad 
arrived  from  Martinique  a  week  before,  after  being 
chased  by  several  English  vessels.  The  Destin,  the 
Conqaerant  and  the  Rijfichy  were  under  her  orders.  The 
Sceptre^  left  us  next  day  to  go  and  destroy  an  English 
trading  post  at  Hudson's  Baj-,  with  two  frigates  and 
detachments  of  infantry.  The  regiment  of  Armagnac 
furnished  most. 


May. 


•  The  celebrated  La  Pdrouse  commanded  this  expedition,  and  met 
witli  all  succesH.  It  is  somewhat  strnngc  tlinl  De  GousMencoui-t  does 
not  name  him.  Jean  Francois  Galaup  de  La  IV^ruuse  wm  born  at 
Alhy  in  1741  ;  wiis  educated  at  the  navy  school;  becnme  a  midship. 
man  November  ID,  IT'O,  and  in  his  fifth  cruise  was  wounded  and  taken 
prisoner  in  the  FormidnhU,  Du  Verger,  at  the  battle  of  liellisle.  En- 
sign October  1,  17(!4;  he  became  commander  of  the  Adtmr  in  1767. 
lu  1770  he  commanded  the  Anutzone,  in  d'Kstaing's  fleet,  in  the  en- 
gagement  with  Byron;  then  look  the  Ariel,  off  New  England.  Ap- 
pointed captain  April  4,  1780,  in  the  Aitrea,  and  with  La  Touche  took 
the  Charlrntoun  and  Jnrk.  .Vfter  which  he  sailed  to  Ciipe  Fran<;ois 
where  he  was  appointed  to  the  Sceplre.  In  the  expedition  here  refer- 
red to  lie  commanded  the  Sceptre,  having  under  him  the  frigates  At- 
trfe,  De  Liingle,  and  Eni/ageanl;  La  Jaille,  with  29t)  infantry  and  artillery 
under  Major  de  Rostiiing;  4  field  pieces,  2  mortars  and  8()0  bombs. 


f    f 


UNDER   THE  COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


129 


Three  or  four  days  after  there  sailed  for  the  Wind- 
ward Isles  the  Dauphin  Royal,  the  Sagittaire  and  the 
Experiment,  with  a  part  of  the  troops  taken  from  these 
garrisons.  I  had  forgotten  to  state  that  General,  the 
Marquis  de  Bouill6,  had  arrived  at  the  cape  shortly 
after  us,  and  knew  our  disaster.  He  had  a  long  con- 
ference with  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  Senor  Galvez 
and  Senor  Solano  and  two  or  three  other  general 
officers,  the  result  of  which  was  that  nothing  should 
be  undertaken ;  and  the  next  day  the  ten  thousand 
Spaniards  who  had  arrived  at  the  cape  in  Solano's 
squadron,  were  distributed  in  the  island.  This  in- 
fantry was  superb  and  verj'  well  kept,  but  a  little 
dirty. 

On  the  16th  six  of  our  vessels  left  the  cape 

June.  '■ 

and  went  down  the  coast  to  collect  the  vessels 
of  the  convoy  preparing  for  France,  under  the  escort 
of  the  Languedoc,  Diademe,  Marsellais  and  Magnanime. 


After  struggling  through  the  ice,  he  reached  Fort  Prince  of  Wales  on 
the  8th  of  August,  and  soon  reduced  that  fort  and  Forts  York  and  Nel- 
son. His  conquest  showed  the  generosity  usual  to  the  French.  He 
left  supplies  for  the  English  in  the  interior,  and  exacted  the  publica- 
tion uf  Henrne's  voyage,  of  which  he  found  the  manuscript  there.  In 
1785  he  sailed  from  Brest,  in  the  Boj'sole  and  Astrolabe,  to  make  a 
voyage  around  the  world,  and  after  exploring  the  Pacific  from  Beh- 
ring's  straits  to  Botany,  bay,  sent  home  in  1788  an  account  of  his  voy- 
age. No  tidings  of  him  reaching  France,  the  National  Convention  in 
1701  sent  out  an  expedition  in  search  of  him,  but  it  returned  without 
effecting  anything;  and  it  was  not  till  1825-8  that  Dillon  and  d'Urville 
established  the  fact  that  he  perished  on  Vanikoro.  During  his  ab- 
sence La  P^rouse  was  made  commodore,  November  2d,  178(i.  His 
voyage  was  published  in  Paris  in  4  vols.  4to,  in  1797,  and  in  English 
at  London  in  1799. 

17 


130 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH  FLEET 


They  were  also  directed  to  take  in  powder  at  St. 
Nicholas  mole,  as  there  was  ver}'  little  in  the  fleet. 
Under  Tortugas  they  handed  over  the  convoy  to  the 
escorting  vessels,  and  returned  to  the  anchorage  at 
the  cape.  It  was  somewhat  surprising  to  see  two 
convoys  set  out  unopposed  by  the  English.  Having 
returned  to  France  with  this  convoy,  I  will  give  an 
account  of  this  voyage ;  but  I  shall  first  give  some 
account  of  the  manners,  ctistoms,  tuid  religious  state 
of  this  coimtry  in  1782. 

Most  of  the  French  who  go  to  the  West  Indies 
count  on  getting  rich  very  fast,  and  returning  home 
as  soon  as  possible.  They  exhaust  the  land  by  over- 
cultivation,  and  take  none  of  the  comforts  of  life  ;  differ- 
ing greatly  in  this  from  the  English.  They  keep  eco- 
nomes,  a  kind  of  superintendents,  who  ruin  them,  and 
end  by  l)ecoming  mastei-s  of  the  plantations  which 
they  direct.  The  creole  thinks  only  of  his  pleasures ; 
gaming,  love,  and  the  table,  take  uj)  all  his  moments. 
A  part  of  the  night  is  spent  in  very  high  play.  I 
have  seen  few  countries  where  gambling  prevails 
as  much  as  at  Martinique,  and  not  one  that  comes 
up  to  the  cape,  and  the  manner  of  playing  there. 
Love  is  his  dominant  jtassion,  although  the  easiest  sat- 
isfied. The  climate  and  food  contribute,  doubtless,  as 
much  as  the  facility  of  obtaining  women.  The  slaves, 
and  even  all  the  colored  girls,  prize  nothing  so  nmch 
as  the  embrace  of  a  white ;  and  as  they  are  very 
agreeable,  they  are  preferred  to  white  women,  who, 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GBASSE. 


131 


oti  tlic  other  hmul,  have  to  stoop  to  vile  ails  to  gratify 
their  iiiulinatioii,  aud  they  never  keep  a  lover  Higliing 
three  whole  days.     A  fine  table,  the  most  exquisite 
viands,  cost  the  easy  creole  nothing ;  and  of  all  men, 
they  seem  most  to  enjoy  things  with  gusto.     I  can 
say  that  there  is  no  sense  that  they  do  not  gratify  in 
the  course  of  the  day.     From  this  sketch  it  may  be 
inferred  that  it  is  8uii>rising  to  see  a  creole  grow  old. 
Many  have  died  of  dissipation,  and  they  die  every 
day.     This  is  the  reason  why  so  few  young  men  re- 
turn from  the  AVest  Indies.     Religion  is  known  only 
by  name  in  this  counti-y;  good  faith  being  absolutely 
banished,  and  virtue  scarcely  practiced  by  those  whose 
employment  or  office  is  intended  to  make  it  respected 
and  enforced.     This  country  is  absolutely  corrupted. 
The  children  go  naked,  and  run  about  the  streets  and 
squares,  where  they  commit  great  indecencies.     If  na- 
ture  lias  given   the  inhabitants   of  the  torrid   zone 
means  to  exhaust  every  possible  kind  of  pleasui'e,  it 
lias  placed  the  chastisement  at  hand,  for  how  many 
diseases  afflict  this  wretched  country  I     There  are  few 
in  France  to  be  compared,  in  violence,  to  those  of 
Southern  America.     I  shall  not  enter  into  any  details 
as  to  them ;  it  would  be  too  long  aud  too  revolting. 
I  leave  this  to  the  Esculapiuses.    The  productions, 
animals,  birds,  fish,  are  not  in  my  line,  and  are  too 
well  known  for  me  to  dwell  on  them. 

On  the  first  of  July  we  set  sail,  favored  by  the 
wind.     We  got  most  happily  out  of  the  Mo- 
gane  channel. 


July. 


132 


OPERATIONS  OF   TUE   FRENCH   FLEET 


Oh  tlu'  9tli  of  July  we  wore  off  Bermiula,  wliieh 
we  hiui  infinite  trouble  to  puss,  the  win<l8  having  be- 
come contrary.  Our  voyage  was  cliequered  by  all 
sorts  of  weather,  mostly  contrary'  to  us.  A  hundred 
leagues  north  and  south  of  the  Banks  of  Newfound- 
land, wo  fell  in  with  an  English  cartel  going  to  Bos- 
ton, which  we  examined  strictly.  About  this  latitude 
we  saw  a  very  extraordinary  fish,  which  Mr.  Buftbn 
does  not  know  of.  This  animal  is  about  sixtv  feet 
long,  of  the  form  of  a  ray,  with  an  elevation  three 
feet  high  on  the  back-bone,  to  which  a  white  shark- 
shaped  fish  was  attached.  We  could  not  take  it, 
although  it  was  aloikg  side  of  us,  for  half  an  hour. 

At  the  altitude  of  the  Azores  we  fell  in  with  a 
Poiluguese  man  of  war,  which  must  have  taken  us 
for  English,  an  we  all  had  ♦he  flag  of  that  nation 
hoisted. 

August  13th,  estimating  ourselves  fifty  leagues 
from  Isle  de  Groas,  and  our  convoy  sailing  very 
badly,  we  sailed  but  a  short  distance,  especially  as  we 
had  no  frigate  to  explore  our  route. 

The  night  of  the  17-18th  we  had  a  heavy  gale  of 
wind,  the  more  dangerous  as  we  were  near  land. 
Most  of  us,  I  assure  you,  gave  taii'selves  up  as  lost, 
ajid  never  expected  to  see  day  or  reach  France.  Our 
masts  strained,  yet  we  had  to  carry  sail  or  perish. 
Had  we  been  dismasted,  we  should  undoubtedly  have 
Bwamped.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  how  we  spent  the 
night     At  last,  after  being  well   buft'etcd,  we  per- 


AugUBt. 


UNDER  THE  COUNT  DE  OHASHE. 


183 


ceived  the  island  culled  BollciHle,  whtTo  wo  uue.Uorud 
nil  but  three  Hliipn,  wliieli  made  L'orieiit. 

Tlie  next  morning  Heverul  ol*  ub  went  aHliore.  It  is 
impoBHible  to  convey  the  pleanure  we  all  felt  in  trcad> 
ing  upon  the  Hoil  of  France.  Home  kiHHcd  it,  others 
lay  down  on  it;  there  wuh  no  childiHlineHH  thatwu  did 
not  do.  The  MarseiUais  having  been  commiMHioned  to 
convey  the  merchantmen  over  the  river  at  Vordoaux, 
remained  another  day  at  thiM  anchorage.  As  for  us, 
wc  Bailed  on  the  2lHt,  three  men  of  war,  and  a  small 
vessel  for  Brest. 

On  the  22d  we  discovered  four  voshcIh  which  we  at 
first  took  to  be  English,  which  did  not  plejise  us  over 
much.  At  last,  after  much  trouble,  we  passed  tlio 
Bee  du  Raz,  the  Bay  des  Trepassis,  saw  the  fort  of 
Port  Ric,  and  at  last,  on  the  28d  of  August,  arrived 
at  the  roadstead  of  Brest.  Few  days  have  appeared 
so  interesting  to  the  author  of  this  journal,  by  name. 


^ 


■AwiiJ^ 


rm*fuH0t^!tr 


END  OF  THE  JUUHNAL. 


ERRATA. 

Mr.  du  Plegsis  Pasoault  commanded  the  /ntripidt  at  the  lime  of  her 
I088  by  fire. 

The  Count  de  Vaudreuil  commanded  Ibe  Serplre,  and  the  MarquU, 
hie  brother,  in  the  Triomphanl,  commanded  the  French  fleet  after  our 
defeat  on  the  12th  of  April,  nnd  the  capture  of  Mr.  de  Qrawe. 


\M 


JOTTRNAL 
OF    AN    OFFICER 

IN  THK 

NAVAL  ARMY   IN   AMERICA, 

IN  1781  AND   1782. 
Magnus  gteoloriim  naBoitur  ordo. —  VinjU. 

AMSTERDAM,   17H3. 


JOURNAL. 


The  thirteen  United  States  of  North  America  hnd 
declared  themselves  sovereign  and  independent  in  1770. 
So  tiir  were  they  from  beiiij?  mo  in  17H1,  that  those  in 
the  south  were  on  the  point  of  being  compelled  to 
acknowledge  their  former  master,  which  wouhl  have 
rendered  the  liberty  of  the  others  veiy  uncertain. 
Nevertheless,  England,  at  the  cloae  of  1782,  declared 
them  all  free. 

The  relation  of  these  sut^cesses  forms  part  of  the 
cam[)aign  of  the  Count  de  Grasse.  In  this  view  it  is 
offered  entire  to  the  public,  as  the  check  wliich  the 
anus  of  France  sustained  on  the  12th  of  April,  1782, 
did  not  embolden  England  to  continue  her  non-recog- 
nition of  the  sovt>reignty  of  the  United  States ;  the 
advantages  obtained  in  17H1,  must,  therefore,  have 
cKtablished  it  beyond  peradventure. 

The  events  of  1780,  an<l  of  the  first  months  of  1781, 
had  not  even  prepared  those  of  the  rest  of  that  year 
and  of  the  early  months  of  the  next.  In  1780,  the 
fleet  of  the  two  powers  had  fought  no  less  than  three 

times,  without  obtaining  any  decisive  advantage.    The 

18 


I 


138 


OPERATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


empire  of  the  West  India  waters  remained  unsettled, 
and  no  enterprise  was  undertaken  on  either  side  hefore 
wintering.  When  that  time  arrived  there  were  but 
four  French  ships  at  Martinique,  and  five  at  St. 
Domingo ;  the  rest  escorting  a  very  numerous  convoy, 
did  not  enter  Brest  till  January  4, 1781,  atter  a  voyage 
of  five  months. 

On  the  16th  of  March  following,  there  was  an 
engagement  in  Delaware  river  between  the  French 
squadron  which  had  wintered  at  Newport,  and  the 
English  fleet  stationed  at  New  York.*  This  action 
was  very  spirited  and  well  mainta>*^ed  on  both  sides; 
but  the  debarkation  of  the  Frei  ■  and  American 
troops  on  one  of  the  banks  of  that  river,  which  the 
English  sought  to  prevent,  was  not  in  fact  effected ; 
hence,  without  being  able  to  claim  the  victory,  they 
reaped  the  advantages  of  one.  Charleston  and  Caro- 
lina had  returned  to  the  powr  of  Kngland  in  1780, 
and  an  English  arm}-  ravaged  Virginia  in  1781,  while 
a  flotilla  of  that  nation  wasted  with  fire  and  sword  both 
shores  of  Chesapeake  Bay. 

'Such  was  the  sitiiation  of  the  belligerent  ;  arties  in 
America,  when  the  Count  de  Grasse  was  appointed  to 
command  the  king's  naval  forces  in  that  part  of  the 
world,     lie  was  not  known  to  the  new  minister  of  the 


■Tbis  wax  tlie  action  between  tbe  Frencb  fleet  under  ibe  Cbevnlier 
DeHtoiicbeH,  and  tlie  Kn((1ish  fleet  under  Arhutbnol  and  Oravex.  Tbe 
object  was  lo  lake  Arnold  at  I'i)rtgniouib,  and  it  did  not,  of  course, 
lake  place  in  Uflawarc  river,  but  off  ('ape  Henry.  Soiil(S's  lli»(ury 
lift  Trouhlet,  iii,  !tr.4.      Hinlnri/  i,f  the  Civil  War.  iii.  180. 


UNDER   TUE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


139 


navy.  He  had  been  obliged,  in  consequence  of  his 
health  (having  been  in  constant  service  since  1775),  to 
refuse  the  command  of  the  squadrons  which  liad 
remained  in  1780  at  Martinique  and  St.  Domingo. 
Hence  he  did  not  expect  and  could  not  expect  to 
return  thither  so  soon,  still  less  to  be  commander-in- 
chief  there.  He  represented  the  state  of  his  health, 
the  necessity  of  his  enjoying  liis  native  air,  and  that, 
moreover,  as  the  departure  of  th^  fleet  could  not  take 
place  soon  enough  to  carry  out  any  operation  before 
wintering,  he  would  infallibly  be  reproached  with 
this  inactivity ;  he  even  went  so  far  as  to  name  an 
officer,  whom  he  deemed  more  capable  than  himself 
to  fill  tlie  post ;  but  the  king  insisted  on  being  obeyed, 
and  at  once.  On  this  the  Count  de  Grasse,  who  had 
reached  I'aris,  February  Ist,  left  the  18th,  and  arrived 
at  Brest  on  the  2(3th. 

There  a  considerable  squadron  was  preparing,  which 
was  to  escort  a  convoy  of  one  hundred  and  iifty  sail, 
with  a  reinforcement  of  troops ;  but,  as  some  of  the 
vessels  were  part  of  the  s(piadron  which  had  returned 
from  Cadis  on  the  4th  of  January,  it  required  time 
to  put  them  in  condition  to  make  a  new  campaign. 
In  spite  of  his  intirmities,  the  Count  de  Grasse,  by  his 
presence  in  the  arsenal  from  five  in  the  uioi'ning, 
hastened  the  fltting  out ;  but  the  arrival  at  Brest  of 
the  new  minister  of  the  navy  expedited  it  still  more, 
and  the  fleet  and  convoy  set  sail,  ^[arch  22d,  with  a 
favorable  wind,  in  spite  of  the  e([uinox. 


140 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH  FLEET 


L 


i 


V 

^ 


We  doubled  the  cape  on  ♦'he  27th;  and  then,  to 
keep  the  convoy  always  together,  and  to  prevent  the 
Bailing  of  the  slow  craft  from  retarding  that  of  the 
rest,  the  admiral  had  them  towed  by  his  ships,  taking 
one  himself. 

Thanks  to  this  precaution,  in  thirty-six  days  the 
fleet  and  the  whole  convoy  (an  unheard  of  thing  till 
then  ft>r  so  many  vessels),  came  at  day-break,  on  the 
28th  of  April,  in  sight  of  the  land  of  Martinique. 

The  cutter  Alerte  had  announced  their  arrival  ; 
€hey  passed  through  the  channel  of  St.  Lucia,  so  as  to 
reach  their  destination  three  days  sooner,  and  to  avoid 
a  calm,  if  they  met  the  English  squadron,  supposed  to 
be  at  sea. 

In  fact,  at  11,  an  English  frigr  >  •  ^  perceived 
making  signals,  and  at  2  o'clock  twenty-two  hostile 
sails  were  signalled  towards  Diamond  Bock.  The 
convoy  could  not  have  entered  the  roadstead  of 
Martinique,  except  by  night,  and  it  would  have  been 
imprudent  to  try  it,  in  the  presence  of  »o  large  a 
hostile  squadron,  because  there  was  no  way  of  know- 
ing whether  vessels  had  not  been  left  at  St.  Lucia, 
which  might  rout  the  convoy  while  the  two  squadrons 
were  engaged.  Accoiflingly,  the  French  fleet  passed 
the  night  near  the  shore  and  athwart  Point  Salines, 
awaiting  the  intelligence  which  the  general  sent  for 
by  an  oflicer  whom,  he  put  ashore  at  Point  St.  Anne. 
This  oflicer  returned  to  the  fleet  at  8  p.  m.,  and  re- 
ported that  17  vessels  of  the  line  and  five  frigates 


UNDER  THE   COUNT   D£  GRASSE. 


141 


had,  for  the  last  fifty  days,  hlockaded  the  roadstead 
of  Fort  Royal  and  the  four  French  vessels  anchored 
there ;  the  latter  had  orders,  during  the  cours'^  of  the 
night,  to  hoist  sail  the  next  morning  and  attack  the 
head  or  rear  of  the  English  squadron,  as  soon  as  they 
saw  the  French  fleet. 

On  the  29th,  in  the  morning,  the  fleet,  covering  the 
convoy,  steered  for  Fort  Royal ;  at  8  o'clock  the  Eng- 
lish squadron  was  signalled,  and  at  noon  the  French 
fleet  was  on  the  beam  of  the  Euglish  flagship.  The 
English  began  a  very  distant  fire,  to  which  the  French 
paid  no  attention  till  the  English  bullets  went  far 
beyond  them.  The  convoy  had  lain  to  the  windward 
of  Diamond  Rock,'  and  when  the  action  began  it  con- 
tinued its  route  to  its  destination,  without  the  loss  of 
a  single  vessel  from  its  leaving  Brest. 

The  English  fleet,  while  fighting,  crowded  sai'  the 
admiral  sent  orders  by  the  frigates  for  each  ^  rench 
vessel  to  engage  the  English  vessel  opposite,  and  for 
the  suiplus  with  the  four  vessels  from  the  roadstead 
of  Fort  Royal,  as  a  light  squadron  to  turn  the  English 
line  and  get  it  between  two  fires.  This  order  was  not 
executed.  Of  the  English  fleet  only  three  vessels  of 
the  rear  guard  were  ever  engaged,  because  the  French 
van  which  served  as  rear  guard,  instead  of  bearing 
down,  according  to  all  the  signals,  kept  the  wind  con- 
stantly with  light  sails,  while,  on  the  contrary,  the  rear 
guard  became  van,  bore  down   on   the  enemy  and 


'  A  rock  at  the  cnti'ance  of  Fort  Royal  Bay. 


142 


OPERATIONS   OF  THE   FRENCi     FLEET 


engaged  them  vigorously.  Thus  the  Englirth  fleet 
could  always  hear  away  in  order;  and  at  six  o'clock 
there  were  only  thirteen  out  of  the  twenty-four  French 
vessels  in  pursuit  of  the  seventeen  English ;  these 
covered  the  retreat  of  the  Russell,  74,  which  then  ran 
before  the  wind  to  St.  Eustatius,  where  it  arrived 
with  seven  feet  of  water  in  the  hold,  and  much  cut 
up;  the  Centaur,  the  Torbay,  the  Intr^pide,  were  not 
less  so. 

The  admiral  sent  most  precise  orders  to  all  his  fleet 
to  keep  together  during  the  night,  so  as  to  renew  the 
action  in  the  morning;  but  on  the  30th,  at  daybreak, 
although  the  head  of  the  French  fleet  Avas  within  can- 
non shot  and  a  half  of  the  English  flagship,  the  French 
fleet  had  not  rallied,  as  it  might  j^ad  should  have 
been,  as  the  Sotiverain  (the  Chevalier  de  Glandevese, 
captain),  second  of  the  commander  of  the  rear  guard, 
manoeuvred  so  well,  that  in  the  morning  slie  found 
herself  second  to  the  admiral,  who  then  directed  the 
part  of  the  fleet  that  was  with  him,  so  as  to  make  the 
English  take  a  route  to  facilitate  the  rest  of  the  French 
in  overtaking  them ;  but  they  had  not  got  together  by 
evening. 

The  night  of  April  30,  May  1,  w«s  spent  in  chasing 
the  enemy  under  all  sail ;  the  Englieli,  on  their  side, 
made  all  sail,  wind  astern.  On  the  morning  of  May 
1st  there  were  only  eleven  French  vessels  near  enough 
to  attack  the  enemy  ;  the  others  were  excessively  be- 
hind, and  some  out  of  sight.      It  would  have  been 


UNDER  THE  COUNT  DE  GRASSE. 


143 


imprudent  to  begin  a  new  action  with  eleven  ships 
against  sixteen  of  eo  superior  sailing  qualities,  and 
without  any  hope  of  being  reinforced  during  the 
action  by  the  rest  of  the  fleet.  Il&d  the  pursuit  of 
the  enemy  been  continued,  it  would  clearly  have  been 
useless,  and  time,  which  was  precious,  would  have 
been  wasted  in  regaining  the  wind;  for  the  fleet  was 
already  thii-ty  leagues  west  of  St.  Lucia.  The  chase 
was  accordingly  discontinued  at  10  o'clock,  and  we 
were  all  in  the  sulks;  for  since  the  29th  none  of  us 
wo»ild  have  missed  his  share  in  the  prizes  and  gloiy. 

The  French  fleet  resumed  its  route,  and  anchored, 
May  6th,  at  Martinique,  where,  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war,  the  Marquis  de  Bouille,  the  honor 
of  his  nation  in  this  part  of  the  world,  commanded. 

The  naval  and  military  commanders  lost  no  time  in 
their  operations;  it  seems  that  they  wished  to  under- 
take nothing  the  execution  of  which  was  not  certain, 
before  the  Ist  of  July,  since  they  decided  to  attack  the 
isle  of  Tobago,  the  only  one  that  interrupted  the 
communication  of  the  French  Windward  Isles  with 
the  Spanish  mainland.  This  communication,  esta- 
blished from  isle  to  isle,  secured  fresh  provisions,  not 
abundant  on  the  islands,  and  deprived  the  hostile 
cruisers  of  all  refuge  in  those  ports. 

The  Marquis  de  Bouille  had  also  a  project  of  form- 
ing an  establishment  at  Gros  Islet,  on  St.  Lucia,  as 
there  was  not  time  enough  to  attempt  a  regular  attack 
on  the  Morne  Fortune ;  he  proposed  to  fortify  Gros  Islet 


144 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH  FLEET 


in  six  weeks.  The  isle  of  St.  Lucia  would  then  be- 
come half  English  and  half  French ;  the  enemy  would 
be  deprived  of  the  best  anchorage  in  the  island,  and 
that  most  annoying  to  Martinique ;  but  prudence  re- 
(juired  that  force  enough  should  bo  landed  to  keep  the 
garrison  of  Morne  Fortun6  in  cheek,  examine  on  the 
spot  the  extent  and  situation  of  the  works  to  be  raised, 
and  the  time  necessaiy  to  perfect  them. 

These  two  plans  would  be  carried  out  at  the  same 
time,  by  letting  the  fleet  cruise  to  the  windward  of 
St.  Lucia,  af\er  it  had  protected  the  landing  of  the 
Marquit*  de  Bouill^.  The  fleet  in  this  position  being 
to  windward  of  the  enemy's,  would  have  been  able  to 
oppose  any  attack  on  his  part. 

In  consequence,  on  the  8th  of  May  a  vessel  of  64 
guns  (M.  d'Albert  de  Rions,  captain  of  a  ship  of  the 
line),  and  two  of  fifty,  were  sent,  with  transports  loaded 
with  troops  and  ammunition,  under  the  order  of  M. 
de  Blanchelande,'  to  revictual  the  isles  of  St.  Vincent 
and  Granada,  and  then  to  attack  Tobago.' 


1  Pbilibert  Frances  Kouxel  dc  Blancholande,  born  at  Dijon  in  1786, 
was  Iho  son  of  a  lieutenant  colonel,  who  dieU  of  bis  wounds  in  1740. 
He  entered  the  flervicc  at  the  age  of  12,  and  in  1771)  came  to  America 
as  major  of  the  regiment  of  Auxerrois.  He  soon  became  lieutenant 
colonel,  and  after  his  successful  defence  of  St.  Vincent  was  made 
brigadier;  and  in  1781  governor  of  Tobago,  and  next  of  Dominica. 
Having  retired  to  private  life  in  France,  Louis  XVI  made  liim  governor 
of  St.  Domingo;  but  after  the  revolution  began  he  was  supursedcd, 
tried  by  a  revolutionary  tribunal  in  France,  and  candenined  to  death, 
April  11,  17tl3.     His  son  soon  followed  him  to  the  guillotine.         S. 

'  Thi:i  detachment  was  large  enough  for  its  object ;  it  was  deemed 
very  rash  in  France,  without  considering  that  it  was  to  operate  to 
leeward. 


UNDER   THE  COUNT  DE  GRASSE. 


145 


The  fleet  having  act  sail  the  same  day,  the  Marquis 
do  Bouille  lauded  with  1200  nicu  at  Gros  Islet,  Saint 
Lucia,  and  surprised  a  hundred  men,  who  were  guard- 
ing that  post;  after  roconnoitering  the  ground  in 
person,  ho  saw  that  the  time  was  too  short  to  finish, 
hot'oro  winter,  retrenchments  solid  enough  in  case  of 
attack ;  the  troope  reembarked  with  the  prisoners ; 
the  fleet  escorted  them  to  Fort  Royal,  where  it 
anchored  May  15.' 

The  memy  were  still  at  St.  Christopher's ;  but  on 
the  22d  news  came  that  they  had  sailed  and  were 
manreuvring  to  windward.  The  French  fleet  again 
set  sail  on  the  25th,  to  go  and  cover  the  attack  on 
Tobago.  The  French  had  la  uled  there  on  the  24th, 
and  the  artillery  of  the  vesaels  liad  soon  silenced  the 
batteries  which  defended  the  anchorage ;  the  fleet 
came  in  sight  of  the  island  on  the  .30th;  it  per- 
ceived six  hostile  vessels  with  a  convoy,  destined, 
doubtless,  to  cany  in  supplies;  but  they  renounced 
their  project  by  a  prompt  flight.  On  the  .Slst  the 
fleet  landed  the  Marquis  de  Bouille,  with  a  corps  of 
troops,  at  Courland  Bay,  and  on  the  1st  of  Juno,  the 
Marquis  du  Chilleau,  with  other  troops,  at  Man  of 
War's  Bay. 

These  reinforcements  were  necessary ;  Mr.  de 
Blanchclande  had  driven  the  garrison  of  the  island 
into  a  very  strong  i)Ost,  whence  the  enemy  could  retire 


This  should  apparently  be  the  18th.     See  preceding  journal.   <S. 

19 


II 


140 


OPERATIONS   OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


from  mome  to  mome,  and  liold  out  till  winter.  The 
Marqnirt  do  Bouill6  and  M.  du  Chillcau  advanced  each 
on  liiH  side  to  the  rear  of  the  post:  tliree  different 
attacks  were  conceited  for  tlie  2d  of  June;  hut  the 
Man|uis  de  Itouill6  liaving  Runinioned  the  enemy  to 
Hurrender,  they  saw  tljemselves  ho  surrounded  and 
liopeless  of  relief,  that  they  accepted  the  terms  gmuted 
to  the  island  of  Dominica. 

Tlie  day  of  June  o  was  spent  in  reembarking  the 
troops,  with  the  prisoners,  after  leaving  all  that  was 
needed  for  the  subsistence  and  defence  of  that  island. 

On  the  4th,  the  frigates,  which  were  cruising  to  wind- 
ward, ainiounced  the  approach  of  the  enemy's  fleet 
and  a  convoy. 

On  the  5th,  the  English,  to  the  number  of  twenty- 
one  ships  of  the  line,  and  17  others  of  inferior  size, 
seemed  disposed  to  tight.  The  French,  who  had 
hoisted  sail  the  night  before,  formed  in  line  to  meet 
them  ;  but  the  English  soon  bore  away :  they  did  not 
even  wait  for  the  Frenc^h  to  be  at  the  same  distance 
from  them  as  the  six  vessels  vvliich  had  sheered  off  on 
the  30th  of  May.  The  army  having  all  reembarked, 
the  fleet  resumed  its  station  to  the  windward. 

It  sailed  on  the  10th  for  (jrnnada,  where  it  anchored 
June  lltli;  it  left  there  the  14th,  and  anchored  on  the 
19th  at  Fort  Royal,  Martinicjue,  bringing  in  all  the 
prizes  made  in  the  cruise  and  at  tlu*  conciuered  island. 

Winter  had  been  proclaimed  already  at  Martiniipie, 
by  the  ovei-flow  of  the  rivers;  but  it  was  necessary  to 


^'^, 


..  1    i 


UNDER  THE  COUNT   DE  0RAS8E. 


<l 


(1  of  til 


147 


t'holo 


lay  in  the  provisions,  water 
fleet,  and  repair  some  vessels  wliicih  j^reatly  needed  it. 
The  fleet  could  not  leave  Fort  Koyal  before  July  6th  ; 
it  took  its  way  to  8t.  Doniingo,  where  it  arrived  on  the 
16th,  with  a  convoy  of  160  merchantmen. 

Half  an  hour  after  midnight,  on  that  day,  the  Ville 
de  Paris  struck  three  times,  hut  without  stopping,  on 
a  bank  of  rock  or  sand  unknown  to  all  the  charts ; 
she  was  then  three  leagues  N.  N.  W.  of  LuG  range,' 
and  running  four  knots,  under  bare  poles. 

The  fleet  had  been  increased  to  24  ships  of  the  line, 
by  the  junction  of  the  division  which   it  found  at 
Martinique,  and  to  2J>  by  the  five  which  were  at  the 
cape,   returning  from   the   expedition   to    I'ensacola, 
under  the  ordei*s  of  Chevalitn*  de  Monteil,  commodore  ; 
four  of  these  vessels  had  gone  out  to  meet  a  convoy 
escorted  by  the  frigate  F(}e,  and  they  joined  the  fleet. 
Another,  under  the  comnumd   of  the   (Jhevalicr  do 
Glandeve,   cai)tain   of   a   ship,    had   ordei-s    to    pass 
south  of  the  island,  to  take  under  escort  all  the  tra- 
ding vessels  that  wished  to  profit  by  it.     As  it  was  dis- 
covered that  there  were  two  hostile  frigati's  which  might 
intercei)t  the  Fee  (M.  de  lioub6e,  captain),  two  vessels 
were  detached  to  chase  them.      They  did  it  success- 
fully, for  that  frigate,  which,  having  already  sustained 
two  actions,    that  had  wounded    its   nuists,  hud  just 
fought  a  third  under  Tortugas. 


>  It  wuuld  be  well  tu  exiiiiiiiic  tliii*  HbonI  fur  tliennt'ui^  uf  iinvigaiiun. 


148 


Ol'KKATIONS  OF   TUE   FKENCU   FLEET 


hi 


On  the  25th  of  July,  at  hulf  past  hix,  a.  m.,  ati  acci- 
deiit  Ix'fi'll  tho  Intri^pitle,  74,  which  iiiijjjht  have  do- 
stroyotl  the  whok'  floct  at  the  anohonigi'.  Thi-  vi'hhi'I 
took  tiro,  and  the  tlaiiu'H  were  iiiHtaiitly  ho  vi»)k'nt  that 
it  wart  iinportrtihU'  to  I'xtingnirth  them.  The  vchhoI  \\m 
drawn  from  amid  the  Heet  and  run  awhore  ;  everything 
with  oars  was  most  /ealounly  emj»h>ye(l  to  Have  the 
crow,  and  tlie  vohhoI  ])k'W  up  a  few  ininuten  after.' 

A  Himiiur  aeeidont,  ahnont  at  tlie  naiuo  time,,  befell 
from  the  same  eaune,  the  frigate  (JonsUmk,  near  IhIo  k 
Vaehe.  iShe  formed  part  of  a  detaehment  of  the  tleot 
sent  Houth  of  St.  Domingo:  who  ran  on  shoalH;  tho 
boats  eould  not  got  near  enough  to  nave  all  the  crew ; 
only  a  midshipman  and  175  men  wore  saved. 

On  arriving  at  the  eai)e,  the  admiral  found  the 
frigate  Concorde,  from  North  Auioriea.  The  news 
spread  that  tlie  dispatches  of  the  naval  ami  military 
comnumders,  itnd  those  of  the  envoy  of  Franee,  at 
IMiiladelphiu,  joined  in  assuring  him  that,  witliout  a 
prompt  relief  of  vessels,  men,  money  and  ammunition, 
Virginia  would  fall  again  under  the  Knglish  yoke; 
and  that  the  French  army  had  pay  only  to  the  20th 
of  August.  These  feju's  and  these  wants  were  sot 
forth  without  fixed  projects  to  remedy  them  ;  they  left 
the  admiral  a  choice  only  between  an  attack  on  New 
York  bv  sea  and  hy  land,  or  to  transfer  the  theatre  of 
war  to  Virginiu  by  a  sudden  occupation  of  Chesaiieake 


<  A  barrel  or  lattiu,  which  tiiuk  tiru  from  the  candle  of  Ihc  dealer 
uui,  caused  lliia  terrible  cuuliagratimi. 


UNUEK   TUE   COUNT   DE  GKASSE. 


149 


Hay  with  HiitHcieiit  imval  tbrcoH.  For  either  plan, 
nothing  Iohh  wuh  uHked  than  ii  roiiitbreeniciit  of  GOOO 
iiu'ii,  1,20(),()()()  livroM  ill  Hjiecit',  iminitioiiH  in  pro- 
poilion,  and  ail  in  tlu'  course  of  August;  without  all 
this  relief,  the  most  (liHiistrouH  events  were  menaced. 
The  adinii'iil's  reply  was  expected  hy  the  same  frijfute.* 
The  nioveineiit  of  the  comhined  armies  on  New 
York  iiad  heeii  announced ;  a  movement  necessary 
for  tlie  first  plan,  and  facilitating  the  execution  of  the 

HUCOIld. 

The  admiral  was  not  unaware  that  the  English  West 
India  Heet  was  about  to  sail  ft)r  the  most  part  to  North 
America;  thatas(iuadron  frcun  Europe,  under  Admiral 
J^ighy,  was  on  its  way  to  the  same  point;  that  Lord 
(yornwallis  was,  with  his  army  in  Virginia,  destroying 
warelious(is,  shipyards,  ships,  carrying  off  negroes  and 
cattle.  The  American  troops  might,  indeed,  harass 
him  in  his  march;  hut  deprived  all  naval  protection, 
they  durst  not  approach  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake, 
for  fear  of  being  cut  off.  The  attack  f)n  New  York 
would  certainly  have  delivered  Virginia  ;  but  its 
success  was  more  doubtful  than  the  defeat  of  Lord 
(/'ornvvallis,  in  Virginia  itself.  To  ensure  the  success 
of  this,  re(iuired  only  the  sudden  occupation  of 
Chesapeake  Hay  with  a  commanding  fleet.  The 
French  commander  soon  resolved  to  tran8i)oi*t  his 
whole  force  there;  but  it  was  necessary  to  provide 

'  Tliiit  ngrvoH  uiitinly  witli  the  stntement  iu  Uocliitmbeau'a  Alemuus, 
II,  277.     S. 


I 

i 


Sir 


J  ^ 


160 


Ol'EKATlONS   OF   THE    FRENCH    FLEET 


for  the  B<'i!urity  of  the  coo.^tH  nnd  oommorcc  of  St. 
Domingo  during  Win  ahwoin'o  ;  it  rt'(|uiro(l  a  oonHicU'ru- 
bli'  nntouiit  of  Hpi'cif,  a  powoiful  rfiiiforci'iiu'iit  of 
trooprt,  mutiitioiiH  of  all  kiiidrt,  and  to  lut  at  the  CiioHa- 
poako  Uy  tho  month  of  Augunt.  lit'  had  not  noar  tho 
uid  ri'quired  in  men  and  nioni'y  ;  cightron  hundred 
men  hud  been  left  nick  at  Martitrupie,  and  he  niUHt 
expect  to  leave  an  numy  more  at  St.  Domingo  ;  the 
admiral  had  instructioiiH  from  the  court  only  as  to 
some  escorts  and  cruises.  I  know  not  whether  he 
was  sure  enough  of  its  contitlenco  in  him  to  hope  that 
hi.^  project,  useful  and  glorious  us  it  might  he  to  tho 
French  navy,  would  not  ho  reproached  by  all  in  ease 
of  failure  ;  he  had  to  create  all  the  means,  and  had 
only  twenty  days  to  provide  for  everything.'  There 
happened  to  hi'  ut  St.  Domingo  a  commissary  from 
the  island  of  Cuba ;  it  was  agreed  with  him  that  u 
Spanish  scpmtlron  should  protect  the  coasts  and  com- 
merce; and  as  iibout  three  thousand  four  hundred  men 
could  be  spared  fn)m  St.  Domingo,  till  the  month  of 

■The  publicity  recently  given  by  order  uf  tlie  ImuKe  of  lordi  to 
the  correspondence  of  Lord  Qeorge  Ocrninin  nnd  Oenornls  (Minton  nnd 
Cornwallis,  nnd  the  admiraln  on  iho  Americnn  Htation,  nnd  between 
these  Inst,  sliould  not  diininigh  the  merit  of  thin  expedition. 

In  tlie  French  translation  of  this  correspondence,  printed  nt  Berne, 
in  1782,  wo  rend  ilint  llie  affairs  of  tho  rebels  (p.  r)2)  were  in  such  a 
desperate  slate,  according  to  intercopied  letters  of  their  generals.  Ilint 
nothing  but  the  success  of  some  exirnordinnry  enterprise  could  give 
vigor  and  activity  to  their  cause.  That  New  Yorli  was  tho  object  of 
this  enterprise:  Ilint  the  generals  and  the  minister  eongrntulnlod 
themselves  (p.  18'))  as  if  sure  of  repulsing  it:  that  the  Count  de 
Grasse's  orders  (p.  '2t)2)  were  to  send  ten  or  twelve  of  his  vessels  to 


UNDER   TIIK   COUNT    [)K  OBASSE. 


161 


N'ovoniht'r,  they  wore  unki'd  of  tlio  governor,  niidcr 
an  t'xprt'HH  prom'iHu  to  roMtoro  thcni  to  him,  and  tlu'V 
worn  cnil)urk(M|  on  tho  fliM>t  to  tivt)id  tlio  deliu'H  of  u 
convoy. 

It  I'oinainod  now  to  obtain  csirth ;  the  merchant  of  tho 
capo  would  give  it  only  on  two  conditiouH :  first,  that 
Houio  men-of-war  nliould  be  detached  to  escort  their  con- 
voy to  Kiiropo ;  necond,  that  security  Hhould  be  given 
for  the  reimbursement.  The  admiral  refused  tho 
first  article,  becuuse,  at  the  moment,  he  did  not  wish 
to  enfeeble  his  fleet;  for  the  second,  he  ottered  to 
picdgo  his  .;wn  plantation  in  the  island.  M.  de  Cha- 
ritte,  cap^  in  of  a  ship-of-the-lino,  also  ottered  his  ; 
they  wcio  acceptel ;  but  the  iTioney  was  not  forth- 
v'Ohi  iig  and  time  s^as  lost. 

[t  was  then  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the  same 
Spanish  coinmissary  (Senor  de  Salavedra),  but  he  re- 
marked that  the  gallions  bad  sailed  to  JOurope ;  the 
admiral  urged  him  so  much,  that  be  agreed  to  go  to 


North  Amcricii,  tiiul  to  t'urni»li  nn  escort  to  the  merchant  convoys  lo 
Kiiropu  ;  tliat  the  French  and  American  army  conaisiicti  of  merely  six 
thousand  regul.".r  troops  (p.  1*10,  IT^t  and  227)  ond  the  corps  under 
M.  do  la  Fayette  of  IStK)  monniaincers;  that  the  militia  wore 
scarcely  armed,  and  such  as  had  any,  badly  armed  ;  that  tho  French 
could  bring  only  blighi  reinl'orcoments  from  the  cape.  According  to 
his  picture,  the  minister,  generals  and  admirals  believed  that  they 
had  nothing  to  tear,  and  the  minister  did  not  doubt  (p,  54)  but  that 
Admiral  Uodney  would  reach  the  American  coast  before  the  Count 
deUrasse;  and  Uodney  wrote  (p.  282)  that  Admiral  Hood,  whom  he 
detached  there  with  Jij'leen  ihips.  aj'ler  juimng  Admiral  (Jravee,  uoiild  be  in 
force  »uJ)Uient  lo  defeat  the  enemy  and  overthrow  all  hii  detiynt ;  which  f 
have  no  doubt  will  be  the  eate. 


152 


OPEKATIONS  OP   THE   FRENCH    FLEET 


ITavuna,  with  his  letters  to  the  governor,  and  to  do 
his  best  to  assist  the  puhlic  treasiuy  by  the  purses 
of  iiidivichials.  Tt  must  he  said,  to  the  honor  of  the 
colonists,  that  all  were  eager  to  do  so ;  ladies,  even, 
oifering  their  diamonds.  Then  the  frigate  Ctutcordc  was 
sent,  on  the  28th  of  July,  to  announce  the  coming 
of  the  fleet  with  reinforcements  to  Xorth  America.' 
To  reach  it,  the  fleet  took  an  extraordinary  route,  the 
ocnse  of  which  we  afterwards  saw ;  there  was  dread, 
doubtless,  lest  the  frigate  sent  to  Ilavaiui  for  money 
should  be  taken  or  not  arrive  soon  enough  ;  more- 
over, had  the  fleet  gone  by  the  ordinary  chaniiels,  the 
enemv  niis^ht  have  been  informed  of  its  course  and 
got  to  the  Chesapeake  before  it ;  the  Alf/rette  frigate 
was  accordingly  sent  to  Havana.  The  fleet  followed  by 
the  old  channel,  the  famous  dreaded  channel,  where 
no  French  fleet  had  ever  passed  ;  it  set  sail  from  the 
cape,  Augu.st  5  ;  on  the  '.Hh,  it  took  coast  pilots  at 
the  port  of  Baracoa  ;  on  the  ITth,  the  frigate  AvjrcUe 
rejoined  it;  on  the  19th,  the  whole  Meet,  having  passed 
the  channel  without  accident,  sent  back  the  pilot.  • 
and  on  the  24th,  being  oft  Ohiirleston,  the  i-uttcr  la 
Mourhc  was  .sent  to  Europe  with  intelligence. 

The  fleet  had  [irovidcd  for  the  secresy  of  its  arrival 
by  the  capture  of  all  the  enemy's  corvettes  and  vessels 
it  fell  in  with  ;  they  were,  moreover,   mu«h  more  u.se- 


'  The   U'ttiT  of   Do  (iriiHHe  in    Rncliaiiibpnii    will  lie   ('Diind    in   llic 
Appendix.     S. 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


153 


ful  than  could  be  imagined,  in  tranHportiiig  the  troops, 
after  the  complete  destruction  which  Lord  Cornwallis 
had  made  of  the  American  vessels  on  both  shores  of 
the  bay. 

On  (lie  30th  of  August  Cape  Henry  was  discovered 
N.  W.  J  W.  Chesapeake  Bay  was  reconnoitred,  and 
the  fleet  anchored  l)ehind  Cape  Henry  on  the  31st. 
Thus,  on  the  day  named,  Lord  Cornwallis  could  no 
longer  hope  to  return  to  New  York,  or  derive  any 
aid  from  there. 

On  the  1st  of  September,  storms  prevented  the  land- 
ing of  the  troops,  which  was  to  be  made  at  Jamestown, 
on  James  river,  as  concerted  by  the  admiral  with  the 
French  officer  (M.  de  Climat)  sent  to  (^ape  Henry  to 
repoi't  the  respective  positions. 

The  English  army  was  posted  at  Yorktown  on 
York  river,  and  thought  only  of  fortifying  itself  there, 
unable  to  foresee  the  fate  that  awaited  it.  The  Marquis 
de  la  Fayette  camped  at  the  fork  of  the  Pamnnkv  and 
Mattapony,  with  detachments  on  both  sides  of  York 
river;  the  Pcnnsylvanians  were  on  .James  river;  the 
militia  were  assembled  on  the  Uoussock,'  It  was  while 
this  was  going  on  that  tlie  fleet  api)eared  at  the  mouth 
of  the  bay.     Then  Cencral  Wayne  was  to  pass  James 


'  Marjlaiiil,  Pennsylvania,  anil  Virginia  militia  were  then  serving, 
but  the  militia  here  rcl'erre'l  to  are  doubtless  tlic  Virginia  militia 
under  Gov.  Nelson,  and  the  river  the  Kappahannook.  Gov.  Nelson 
look  part  in  liie  siege  and  directeil  the  gunners  to  tire  at  a  prominent 
house  wiiich,  lie  said,  must  be  head  (juarlors  or  something  of  the  kind. 
It  was  his  own  house  and  still  st.inds,  bearing  the  marks  of  balls, 

20 


k 


iH 


154 


OPEKATIONS   OF   THE   FRENCH    FLEET 


rivor,  and  adviuico  ho  as  to  hold  tlie  Pinglish  in  clieck, 
if  they  attoinitti'd  to  tall  hack  into  Carolina;  hut,  as  ho 
had  no  transports  to  i-arrv  out  this  i-ssontial  ojioration, 
the  Ht'ct  supidiod  him. 

On  tin-  :2d  of  Soi»t(Mnhor  tiic  weather  pcnnittod  the 
vesst'ls  dostinod  to  carry  and  escort  the  troops  to  he 
landed  (the  Man^uis  de  8t.  Simon,  commandant,)  to 
Htart  from  the  anchorage  for  Jamestown  ;  after  land- 
ing the  troops,  they  transported  General  Wayne  and 
liis  division.'  The  y\i(/irt(e  (M,  de  Traversay,  captain,) 
returned  with  two  jirizes,  a  corvette  of  twenty-two 
guns,  and  a  schooner.  The  Triton  and  Vailhint  en- 
tered the  river,  and  the  Ai(/re(iv,  the  next  day,  took 
two  vessels  of  the  same  kind  as  the  itrevious  day. 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  M.  du  Portail,^  a 
French  officer,  dispatched  hy  (Jenerals  AVashington 
and  llochandteau,  announced  the  departure  of  the 
s«|uadron  oi'  Count  de  Barras,  escorting  the  artillery 
and  munitions  necessary  tor  the  i)roJectcd  siege  ;  he 
was  also  directed  to  ask  the  assistance  of  the  light 
vessels  of  the  tlcct.  to  ciiahle  tin-  army,  on  arriving 
at  Maltimorc,  to  come  down  thi'  Klk  hy  water  ;  the 
admiral,  in  the  ahsence  of  his  hoats,  ordered  the  ves- 


'  The  lroo|m  Inmli'd  .Sojit.  IcI,  at  Ciil.  liiirrirs  on  Ihc  Is^le  of  Wiglit, 
and  St.  Simon  iinii  liis  nflicers  wcic  refoived  by  Col.  Butler  nnd  Col. 
Slcxnrt  of  I'enrisylvaiiiii. — ]iuller'»  Jonnml.     S. 

''  n«  iiri'ivcil  from  Newport  to  piji  .iself  under  I  lie  orders  of  his 
junior,  the  Counl  de  (irntti^e.  No  one  was  AKtunirilied.  Ho  Ih  of  ii  dinpo- 
Hition  to  nncrifice  nil  conKidi-rntionR,  nt  nil  times,  to  tlie  good  of  I  tic 
Kcrvire. 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


J  55 


.seirt  of  his  fleet  under  G4'h  to  prepare  for  tliis  service; 
they  were  reudy  to  sail  .Se[>teiiil)er  5th,  wiieii  the 
enemy's  fleet  was  sifjjnalkMl.  It  had  heen  necessary  to 
post  ships-of-the-liiie  at  the  mouth  of  tlie  James  and 
York  to  Idoekaiki  hy  sea  Lord  Cornwallis's  army  and 
all  the  transports  attached  to  his  army ;  these  liad  to 
he  left  at  tlieir  stations ;  thus  the  fleet,  reduced  to 
twenty-four  vessels,  had  orders  to  form,  at  noon,  a  Hue 
in  order  of  swiftness,  the  tide  favoring  it  at  that  hour. 
This  movement  was  executed  with  such  precision  and 
holdness,  in  spite  of  the  ahsenee  of  the  hest  drilled 
part  of  the  crew,  that  the  enemy,  douhtless  taken  hy 
surprise,  at  once  wore  so  as  to  ])e  on  the  same  tack 
as  the  French  fleet :  it  had  the  ca])e  E.  and  E.  X,  E. ; 
in  this  position,  Iteing  to  leeward,  it  awaited  the 
enemy's  attack.  The  issue  of  the  cx[)edition,  the 
vacancy  left  hy  the  crews  employed  in  the  deharka- 
tion,  the  fear  of  getting  too  far  from  the  mouths  of 
tli<  ^'()rk  and  James  rivers,  and  the  fear  lest  the  Eng- 
lish fleet,  hy  its  known  superior  sailing,  should  suc- 
t'ced  in  getting  l)i'tween  these  mouths  and  the  French 
fleet,  all  ohliged  il  I'  keci'  on  the  defensive;  the  enemy 
held  the  weatluT-gage  in  excess  ;  their  halls  did  not 
come  near  eno'.igli  to  the  French  to  in  (•(■ixc  a  reply; 
then-  was  no  it[>[)earance  that  thi"  co  (it  would 
hecomc  very  warm,  hut  the  winds  ordered  nerwise  ; 
they  shifted  till  they  came  to  the  northeast  and  forced 
the  Etiglish  to  attack.  The  two  vans  having  come  so 
close  as  to  he  almost  within  pistol  slH)t,  the  fire  was 


i 


156 


OPERATIONS   OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


long  well  Hustainecl,  and  the  affiiir  sooniod  pboiit  to  bo 
(loc'isivo,  when  Admiral  Hood  made  a  wignr!  to  the 
English  rear  division,  which  he  connnandod  to  hear 
down  on  the  French  rear.  The  admiral  witnessed 
this  movement  with  pleasure,  and  prepared  to  tack 
his  whole  fleet  together,  hearing  X.  N.  W.,  which 
would  inevitably  have  thrown  the  English  line  into 
contusion,  but  Admiral  Graves  anticipated  him,  and 
signalled  his  whole  fleet  to  keep  the  wind.  The  heads 
of  the  two  fleets  gra<lnally  fell  ofl"  in  eonsefpuMice  ot 
this  new  order  of  the  English  admiral,  :'.nd  the  Are 
ceased  at  (51,  1'.  M. 

The  French  fleet  passed  the  night  in  the  presence 
of  the  enemy  in  line  of  battle,  the  flres  in  all  the 
vessels  lighted.  These  signs  of  victoiy  were  not  belied 
in  the  morning,  for  we  perceived  by  the  sailing  of  the 
Engli;-'h  that  they  had  suflered  greatly  ;  so  that  during 
the  night  of  the  iith-lOth,  they  had  to  blow  up  the 
Terrible,  64,  themselves,  and  another  jtut  into  the  lIo()k 
in  a  most  wretched  plight.' 

The  two  fleets,  in  sight  of  each  other,  spent  the  (itli 
of  Septend)er  in  repairing,  favored  by  the  calm  or 
rather  by  the  feeble  north  wind  that  continued  till  4 
o'clock.  The  wind  then  came  from  the  southwest,  and 
the  French  availed  themselves  of  it  to  approach  the 
enemy.  It  was  too  late  to  engage  ag.-in,  and  they  lay 
tliat  night  as  the  preceding. 

>AdniirAl  Graves's  letter,  Sept.iJI.  His  fleet,  licgakl,  wns  sodiBablml 
that  lie  could  not  say  when  he  cuuld  ]>ut  to  »uu. 


m 


UNDER   THE   COUNT    DE  GKASSE. 


157 


On  the  7th  of  Septcmhor  at  (hiy-l>reak,  the  French 
fleet  veered  and  tacked  together  to  attack  tlie  liead  of 
the  eneniy'w  Hne ;  he  made  liis  van  take  the  opposite 
tack  ;  as  the  second  Enghsh  vessel  wore,  the  French 
van  had  orders  to  use  all  efforts  against  the  enemy ; 
hut  the  English  fleet  wore  and  formed  in  line  of  hattle 
behind  the  last  vessel.  This  movement  withdrew  the 
English  from  the  French,  wlio,  to  sail  alo'ig  the 
enemy's  line,  were  unable  to  come  up  except  by  edging 
awav  while  the  English  had  studding  sails.  Th<!  vari- 
able  winds  and  storms  that  sprung  up  in  every  direc- 
tion, then  separated  the  two  fleets. 

On  the  8th  of  (September  the  wind  was  veiy  fresh, 
iuid  the  fleets  kept  far  ajtart.  The  English  held  the 
north,  and  it  was  precisely  from  this  direction  that  the 
French  expected  the  squadron  of  M.  de  Harras  from 
Newi»ort.  It  was  very  essential  to  gain  the  weather- 
gage  of  the  enemy,  to  prevent  his  revenging  himself 
upon  <hat  scpuidron,  composed  of  only  seven  ships  of 
the  line  and  one  of  oO ;  it  escorted  all  the  siege  artillery, 
an  object  of  vital  importance.  The  fleet  sailed  north- 
ward, and  at  (i,  V.  M.,  the  enemy  lay  N.  X.  W.,  and 
N.  W.  Tho  weather-gage  thus  gained,  the  French 
fleet  hoped  to  preserve  it  to  engage  in  the  morning  ; 
but  the  enemy's  fleet  instantly  wore.  At  8,  P.  M.,  it 
nuide  signals,  and  it  was  thought  that  they  wished  to 
try  and  get  into  Chesapeake  IJay  before  us,  the  more 
so  as  on  the  0th  two  frigates  detached  from  the  English 
fleet  had  entered  at  full  sail. 


I 


!  ^ 


ll 


M 


158 


OPERATIONS   OF   THE   FRENCH    FLKKT 


\Vliili>  tlu'  Hoots  wt'iT  ()l>st  rviii^jf  oacli  otlior,  tlio 
wiiui  it'll  (Uu'iii^r  tlio  ni.LTlit,  and  in  tlio  iiutniin^,  Sopt. 
Sith,  a -q'nulrot'  w«p  discovered,  thouffli  itn  Hafij  could 
iiwl  lu'  !li<tiii<!;iiiHlio!.  The  Froncli  Hi'ct  bore  down  on 
il  in  line  .u  butJc  ;  a  n  oK-t  si^lit  of  it  dnrinfj^  tlio  day. 
It  w.is  tlio  Hciuadroii  of  M.  de  Harms,  whicli  ancliorod 
■)n  tlie  lOtli  in  Clu'sapoakc  JJay.  On  tho  sanio  day 
the  Frucli  tteet  no  lovcror  discovonn<i^  anything,  took 
lis  route  for  the  -aine  bay,  where  it  anchored  the  11th; 
two  Enjili'b  *"i<;iites,  the  Iris  and  liichiiioiid,  those  de- 
tached *Voni  the  enemy's  fleet  on  thf  (ith,  were  taken 
as  they  were  getting?  out  to  rejoin  it,  by  tlie  Ai(/rctlc  ami 
D>r«icntc,  whieh  were  eliasin<;  in  front  of  the  lleet. 
They  paid  dearly  for  the  petty  advantaj^e  of  cuttinu^ 
the  buoys  whieh  the  fleet  had  left  at  the  anehoraj^e, 
on  hoisting  sail  Sept.  ."). 

All  the  boats  and  erews  came  on  board,  as  soon  as 
the  return  of  the  fleet  was  announced  in  tlie  bay;  they 
had  remained,  while  waiting  in  .lames  river,  under  the 
protection  of  the  vessels  anchored  at  its  nioutli.  They 
were  sent  back  to  transport  promptly  the  American 
and  French  army  to  the  common  rendezvtius  for  the 
siege  of  Yorktown  and  Gloucester.  M.  de  Harras,  on 
his  arrival  in  the  bay ,  had  detached  tor  the  same  service 
the  snnill  crafl  attached  to  his  stpiadroiv 

On  the  17th  G<nerals  NVashington  and  Rochandieau 
came  on  board  the    Vilk  de  Paris  to  concert  further 


■y/  ra 


UNDER   THE   COUNT    DE  GRASSE. 


169 


oponitions.'  As  thoy  left,  they  wero  lioard  c>x[»iitiatiiig 
oil  tlio  adininirH  zeal  for  the  coiiimoii  cauHo,  aiul  liis 
rt'adiiu'HH  in  (lotat'hiiij?  a  part  of  tho  inariucH  of  his 
vi'rtHC'ls  to  au^nuMit  tlie  army  of  the  liOHie^crs.^ 

On  the  20th  the  fleet  oliai)<;ed  its  aiiehorage,  to  come 
nearer  tlie  army ;''  it  entered  the  hay  further,  more 
in  reaeli  of  York  river,  and  anchored  in  hattk'  order 
reversed  at  itrt  moutli,  with  the  Horse  Shoe  hanks  in 
front.  By  this  {tosition  it  at  once  preserved  to  the 
army  free  communication  with  all  tlie  rivers  flowing 
into  the  hay,  and  was  less  likely  to  dra<;'  the  anchors 
or  hreak  the  cahles  than  at  the  otlier  anchora^v. 

Although  the  operations  of  the  army  on  land  had 
the  success  which  the  fleet  had  jirepared  and  secured 
them,  they  entered  only  summarily  in  the  naval  cam- 
paign :  homage  is  due  however  on  all  occasions  to  the 
cond»incd  French  and  American  army  for  the  concert 
and  harmony  which  reigned  hetween  two  such  different 
nations,  for  their  ardor  and  nohle  emulation  in  all 
instances,    ])rincipally    during    the    siege    of   York- 


'"  I  am  happy  to  inform  congress,  that  I  found  the  French  admiral 
(lisposcil  in  the  best  manner  to  give  us  all  the  assistance  in  his  power, 
and  perfectly  to  coiiperate  witii  me  in  our  present  attempt." —  Wash' 
inyloii  to  I'remlrnl  of  Coiir/riKu,  2^!  Sept.,  1781.     .S'. 

''These  marines  were  really  given  very  reluctantly  on  Oct.  4,  when 
I'.ODO  landed  on  tiio  liloucester  side. — Sj>ark«',i  Wiuhini/ton,  viii,  1()8 
note,  and  liullefs  Journal.     S. 

•' Tills  movement  was  tlie  result  of  a  correspondence  between  Wash- 
ington and  Ue  Urasso,  whicli  lias  too  intimate  a  connection  with  the 
campaign  to  be  omitted  here.  Tlie  letters  will  be  found  in  the  ap- 
pendix.    >'. 


.  , 


1()U 


OI'tUATIONS   OF      HE    FKENCII    FLEET 


1 


town  ;'  a  sifge  ever  inemorable  for  its  resultw  and  for 
the  at'unrate  combinations,  wITu-h  brouglit  to^t'tlior  on 
the  appointed  day,  a  fleet  eoniinjj  seven  hnndred 
lea,<;neH,  and  a  landarniy  that  liad  two  hnndred  to  nuireh. 

Jjord  C'ornwallis,  invested  on  all  sides,  wislied  in  vain 
to  try  to  escape  from  the  tleet  with  a  part  of  his 
transports,  that  liad  taken  refnge  mider  his  gnns. 
Hefore  concludin<;  to  capitulate,  he  also  tried  to  l)urn 
at  their  anchora«;e,  the  vessels  that  hlockacK-d  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  I>y  sending  tire-sliips  from  York- 
town  ;  l)ut  this  laid  been  foreseen,  and  tlie  vessels  gave 
them  free  passage. 

The  last  resource  having  also  failed,  the  Knglish 
general  asked  to  capitulate  on  the  17th  of  October,  the 
same  day  that  (Jeneral  Murgoyne  surremlered  in  1777. 
As  soon  as  congress  received  the  intelligence,  its  joy 
and  its  gratitude  to  the  coninumders  was  expressed  in 
most  authentic  testimonials.  The  following  resolutions 
were  passed  at  IMii-ladelphia,  ()ctoi>cr  :i',itli. 

Jivsolml,  Thiit  the  thanks  of  the  Tnitcd  States  in 
Congress  assendded,  be  presented  to  his  excellency 
tlie  Count  de  Uochandteau,  for  the  cordiality,  /.eal, 
judgment,  and  fortitude,  with  which  he  seconded  and 
advanced  the  progress  of  the  allied  army  against  the 
British  garrison  in  York. 

'Thin  Icgliinony  of  ii  iiiiviil  (ifficcr  is  tlie  more  goncrouo,  iis  tliearniy 
alone  rcceivnl  fuvorM  iit  court  ;  if  tlie  ttcet  received  no  mark  of  satis- 
factioii,  it  waH  iloublle«s  miftieiently  rewarded  Iiy  the  hununiblc  ceno- 
lutioii)*  of  ooimreHH. 


UNDER   THE   COUNT    DE   GHASSK. 


101 


I 


liesoli'fd,  That  the  thaiikn  of  tlic  irriltwl  Htiitc^H  in 
Congresrt  aHHuinblod,  be  i»reHontc'(l  to  hin  excellency 
Count  (le  GrasHe,  tor  bin  diHplay  of  Hkill  an<l  Itravttry 
in  attackinj^  and  defeating  the  llritiMh  Heet  oft'  the 
Bay  of  ( 'he  vipeake,  and  for  IiIh  zeal  and  alacrity  in 
rendering,  witli  tlie  Heet  under  hiw  coninuind,  the  niOMt 
etteetual  and  diHtinguinhed  aid  and  HUpportto  the 
allied  army  in  Virginia. 

Jii'solred,  That  the  L-nited  Statew  in  CongrcHH  an- 
Hembled,  will  cause  to  he  erected  at  York  in  Virginia, 
u  marble  column,  adorned  with  embleniH  (»f  the  alli- 
ance between  the  United  States  and  his  most  ('hristian 
Majesty;  and  inscribed  with  a  succinct  narrative  <tf 
the  surrender  of  Karl  Cornwallis  to  his  cxcifllency 
General  Washington,  commander  in  chief  of  the  com- 
bined forces  of  America  and  Krance;  to  his  ((xcelleney 
the  Count  de  Uochambeau,  commanding  the  auxiliary 
troops  of  his  most  ('bristian  Majesty  in  America,  and 
his  cxcu!  < 'y  the  Count  de  (Jrasse,  commanding  in 
chief  the  naval  army  of  France  in  Chesajieake. 

licsobrd.  That  two  pieces  of  the  field  ordnance, 
taken  from  the  Hritisli  army  under  tl)'  pitulation 
of  York,  i»e  presented  by  the  comnuindi .  iii  chief  of 
tlie  American  army,  to  Count  de  Kochambeau;  and 
that  there  be  engraven  thereon  a  short  mi'morandum, 
that  (\)ngress  were  induced  to  ])resent  them  from  con- 
8i>  .  -;-  ;  n\  of  tlie  illustrious  part  which  he  bore  in 
effectuating  the  surrenlcr. 


m\ 


162 


OPKRATIONS   OF   TIIK    FRKNCH    FLEET 


I 


Jiemhti/,  That  tlii'  Socrctnrv  of  Fori'i^n  Att'airH  !»(> 
dln'«tt'«l  t(t  ro([in'rtt  tlio  MiniHtcr  PU-iiiiioti'iitiary  of  hin 
Most  Clirisfiaii  Majt'sty  to  iiifonu  hirt  Majt'sty,  that  it 
iH  tlie  wish  of  Coii^rcHH,  tluit  Count  tie  OrasKo  may  hv 
pi'miitti'd  to  awi'pt  a  tnHtiiiioiiy  of  tluir  apiiroltation, 
similar  to  that  to  hv  prcsontcd  to  ('(umt  do  Kochain- 
ht-aii." 

(SiiriH'd.)  TiniMPSoN." 

Thi'so  rosohitions  fully  meet  thi'  chMrifc  mado 
aj];aiiist  tlu'  Count  i\v  (Jrassc,  of  liavini^  wisluMl  to  peril 
tho  suc'ci'ss  of  that  cxpodition  hy  a  uv\v  -(^a  fijrht ;  as 
this  imputation  rests  solely  on  the  reply  of  the  Amer- 
ican ifeni'ral  to  the  French  icliniral,  wlii'  h  lias  been 
puhlisluMJ  in  Kurope  without  addintr  the  hitter's  letters, 
wo  may  infer  that  the  puhlication  of  tiio  one  without 
tlie  oth''.  and  the  silence  fall  the  Kuropcnii  gazettes 
as  to  tlie  resolutions  of  cor  -ess  rehitivi  ',,  tlie  Count 
do  Orassc,  have  the  same  soun-e  and  the  same  ohject; 
hence  it  seems  just  to  jfive  tli  'Motives  of  his  letter, 
which  we  all  knew. 

We  heard  from  all  sides,  of  the  spec',  return  of  the 
Kiii^lish  th'ct  to  the  Cliesai|»eak<',  to  eny:a<;e  ih  if  the 
siege  had  not  heeii  terminated.  This  engagement  the 
Count  de  (Jranse  must  accept  either  at  anchor  or  under 
sail;  he  explained  to  (u'lieral  Washington,  that  he 
preferred  to  tight  under  sail;  laying  before  him  his 
reasoii'i  drawn  from  scientific  rules,  and  the  position 
of  lii-  fleet  hctweeii  the  nioiitli  of  a  river  and  a  bar. 


UNUEU   TUK   COUNT   DE  GKASSE. 


103 


which  would  not  porinit  hitii  to  |turMue  the  I'liciiiy 
•jiiickly  I'lion^li  if  victoriourt,  nor  ntanamvre  during  tlic 
I'rigiigcrucnt,  if  he  did  not  tirnt  k'livo  thiit  aiiichonige ; 
now  hi'  might  wi'll  liolifvo  tluit  the  fleet  wouhl  eover 
tlie  wiege  aw  well,  iind  perhapn  better  when  under  Huil, 
tluin  at  anehor.  Why  then  reproach  him  with  wiwh- 
iiig  to  comi»romirte  the  siege?  Was  not  the  project 
of  laying  it  hin  own?  Could  he  wish  it  to  fail?  He 
hu<l  sacriticcd  his  own  glory  to  the  good  of  this  project 
oil  tin'  f)t\\  of  Septendicr,  when  he  returned  to  his 
uneliorage  instead  of  pursuing  the  enemy,  whom  he 
hud  repidsed  ;  he  sacrificed  it  also  on  tliis  occasion,  by 
yielding  to  General  VVashiugton's  desire,  and  renuiin- 
ing  at  an  anchorage  where,  if  he  did  not  fear  being 
defeated,  he  was  absolutely  sure  ot  deriving  no  advan- 
tage from  viet(uy. 

On  the  22(\  October  the  generals  of  the  laud  forces 
<'ame  to  the  admiral  to  concert  all  the  arrangements 
to  be  taken  for  the  security  of  their  conquest  and  the 
departure  of  the  forcc:^. 

According  to  the  report  of  the  otttcers  present, 
Cieneral  Washington  welcomed  the  Count  de  (Jrasso 
with  cordiality  ami  expressions  attesting  the  decisive 
Bcrvices  which  the  latter  had  rendered  his  country, 
und  the  sentiments  which  he  personally  entertained 
for  him.  During  the  dinner  given  on  the  Villc 
ili:  Pari»  to  the  generals  and  all  the  otticers  of 
their  suite,  the  fleet  was  dressed  with  flags,  and  the 
health  of  the  king,  the  congress,  and  the  commanders 


I 


104 


OrKHATIONS   OF   TIIK    KKKNCII    KI.KKT 


'I    • 


wi-rc  «lrmik  witli  hhIv<m.  TIu'  Anicrit'iin  ^nicnil 
ofU'rcd  (111*'  tor  Aiiu'ricati  IiiilcpiMKii'iicc,  wIi'h'Ii,  ho 
m'ul,  wan  iu)w  to(»  Hnii  to  bo  wlmki'ii. 

Tlio  Stirrrillantf  Hct  H«il  tlu'  28(1  to  carrj'  to  FraiH'o 
the  army  iiiul  iiiivv  otilccrs,  choHeii  to  hour  to  tlu'  kiii^ 
Iho  t'uliii^H  of  tilt'  Miu'ct'rtM  ofli'iH  avu\H.  The  Aiidfitiwi- 
tfiie  WUM  al)oiit  to  hoint  nail  on  tlic  2H\h  to  carry  iluitli- 
catCH  of  tin-  Hanu'  dinjiatclii's ;  l»ut  ri'tunu'd  into  tlii' 
bay,  tlic  trigati-N  on  the  watch  liaviii^  ni^nalU'd  thu 
Kn;;lisli  licet :  on  the  niornin;;  of  the  liHth  thirty-ono 
Hailw  could  l»c  already  made  out  oft'  Capi'  CharlcM;  by 
evening'  t'oi-ty-four  were  Hi^'nalled  ;  the  .'{0th  they  made 
var'nuiH  luanu'UvreH,  nometimeri  on  one  tuck,  Hometinicrt 
on  the  other;  at  hint  at  •'{  they  Htood  on  tlie  larboard 
tack  with  the  wind  on  the  tjuarter,  and  we  Haw  no 
moru  of  them. 

Wo  were  ut  first  much  aHtonirthed  at  receiving  no 
order  to  hoist  sail  us  soon  aKpoHsiblc,  when  the  enemy 
were  first  si/^nalled  ;  but  we  learned  that  this  too  wan 
in  deference  to  the  generals  »»n  land,  who  had  expressly 
requested  it. 

Tlie  AhdroDiiiifiic  sailed  on  the  lid  of  Noveiidu'r 
and  on  the  4th,  the  fleet  to  the  nunibei-  of  Mo  ships, 
proceeded  to  dnuble  Cape  Henry,  and  on  the  r»th 
steered  for  the  Windward  Isles.  Four  of  these  vesseirt 
under  M.  le  Chevalier  d'Albert  Saint-llippolyte, 
captain  of  a  ship  of  the  line,  separated  on  the  IHli  to 
proceed  to  St.  Domingo. 

The  renmining  thirty-one  unchoretl  ut  Fort  Uoyul, 


%tt 


UNUKU   TIIK   COUN      UE  U  liASSE. 


lOo 


Miirtini([iio,  on  flic  'Jittli,  the  diiy  roiiiai'kiililc  for  tht> 
Hiirprirto  of  St.  KiMtutiiiH. 

Till)  Hi'ct  tu'cdcti  ffiH'iit  rfpiiit'H,  liut  tlid  not  Hii*l  all 
tliut  wuM  iu'imIimI  at  Mai'tinit|iii'.  It  H|K'iit  twenty  dayn 
in  iTi'i^^in^  aH  W(*ll  i\n  it  coiilil,  ami  in  taking  in  pro- 
vinionH :  liy  tin*  li*'l|»  of  nt'iitral  vchhi'Ih,  it  Hi-t  Hail  1)*'- 
ccnilKT  17,  luully  t-non^li  itn-part'd  ;  nlncc  itn  dcpartniv 
lr(»ni  lliTHt,  Knropr  luivii'^f  fnrnislu'd  it  neither  niantw, 
extran  of  any  kind  nor  HailorM;  nieknertH,  en^a^eint'ntH 
and  deHertion  liad  dintiniHiied  thu  ereWH  ntoiv  tiian 
tivo  tiioUHand  nten. 

The  fleet  had  ordern  to  jfel  to  windward  of  Martin- 
icpie,  by  plyinj;  to  windward  in  the  ehaiuiel  of  St. 
Lneia :  to  reach  it  more  easily,  every  vcHnel  wan  at 
lihertv  to  nnuni'iivn^  independentiv.  Althoui;h  the 
wind  wart  alwayK  eoijtrary  and  in  s»|nallrt,  several 
vertrtelH  jfot  to  wimlward  ;  l»nt  the  force  of  the  enrrentrt 
ani^mented  hy  that  of  the  rt(|nallrt,  drove  them  hack 
into  the  channel  and  prevented  the  others  from  urettin^ 
to  windward.  Anid  its  mnlti[died  ami  the  fleet  per 
for<'i'  pnt  ".w'  *'i  .  .  iipie  and  anchored  in  tlie 
roadstead  of  <  ,  i     '  eeeniher  24th.     The  crews 

w*'re  exhaus*  I  >  ;  '  '  .-d  lahor  of  this  fruitless 
cruisi".     Tin     '  af^ain  the  2Hth,  met    the 

same  difficulty  aiid  returned  to  the  same  roadstead 
the  appointed  rallyiuir  place.  The  event  which 
hrouufht  it  hack  had  heen  foreseen,  hut  it  wished  to 
hasten  to  jirofit  hy  its  su[)eriority  wliich  it  was  not 
much  longer  to  enjoy.     Moreover  it  eould  get  on  the 


i      i[\ 


III 


!      If? 


166 


OPERATIONS  OF   TUB   FRENCH   FLEET 


17th  December  provisions  for  only  forty-seven  days ; 
it  feared  that  the  convoys,  impatiently  expected,  would 
not  arrive  in  that  time :  hence  an  attiick  must  be  made 
on  some  hostile  island,  if  only  to  procure  subsistence 
a  little  longer. 

In  consequence,  the  weather  continuing  unfavorable 
to  reach  Barbadoes,  we  started  January  5th,  for  St. 
Christopher's  with  26  ships  of  the  line  (the  others  were 
refitting)  and  (3,000  land  troops  divided  among  the 
ships  and  transports.  We  hoped  to  find  subsistence 
in  that  island,  draw  the  enemy  to  leeward  to  defend 
it,  and  thus  divert  them  from  attacking  the  convoys 
from  France,  which  had  been  too  long  expected  not 
to  arrive  soon. 

The  fleet  hove  to  off  St.  Christopher's  on  the  11th, 
and  the  next  day  anchored  at  the  Basse  Terre  of  that 
island  :  scarcely  hat'  it  cast  anchor  when  the  whole 
island  submitted  ;  the  iidial)itants  deputed  their  chief 
men  and  capitulated  for  the  wliole  island,  except  the 
high,  precipitous,  and  well  fortified  rock  called  Brim- 
stone Hill,  situaited  on  the  southwest  of  the  island,  to 
which  the  garrison  retired  (piite  [>recipitately. 

On  the  same  day,  the  12tli,  all  the  troops  were  landed, 
and  by  niglit  Brimstone  Hill  was  invested.  The 
artillery  was  landed  next  day ;  and  mortar  batteries 
soon  established  ;  i>ut  when  a  breach  was  to  be  made 
the  first  battery  of  24  of  the  Caton  was  taken  for  the 
service. 

During   the   siege,  the   most  difficult  in  America, 


■■/mi 


■  W- 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


167 


from  the  poaitiou  and  nature  of  this  rook,  Admiral 
Hood  came  to  the  relief  of  the  island  with  twenty-two 
vessels  and  a  'uody  of  land  troops ;  he  was  signalled 
the  24th,  and  the  French  ileet  at  once  set  sail  to  meet 
him.  Had  we  remained  at  anchor,  the  array  on  land 
would  have  lost  all  communication  with  the  neighbor- 
insr  islands,  a  necessary  communication  foi'  its  subsist- 
ence  rendered  precarious  by  the  delay  of  the  convoys 
from  Europe;  moreover  it  could  not  have  rallied  the 
vessels  that  were  to  join  it,  after  repairing  at  Martin- 
ique.    In  fact  the  Hector  came  in  the  same  day. 

The  French  fleet  fbrmed  in  line  of  battle  in  the 
natural  order :  it  came  in  sight  of  the  enemy  only  the 
next  day  ut  day  break  under  the  isle  of  Monserrat, 
which  had  not  yet  capitulated.  The  English  tacked 
to  approach  St.  Christopher's  and  endeavored  to  avoid 
an  action  as  mnch  as  the  French  endeavored  to  come 
up  with  them ;  but  the  English  had  the  weather-gage, 
and  could  nol  but  have  it,  the  attacked  island  being  to 
leeward ;  it  varied  in  the  direction  of  E.  S.  E.,  which 
facilitated  their  standing  with  a  free  wind  towards  St. 
Christopher's,  while  it  L.bliged  the  French  to  hug  the 
wind  so  as  to  press  the  enemy  on  Isle  jS^evis.  The 
French  light  s(iuadron  and  van  had  orders  to  bear 
down  on  tlie  :'nemy's,  which  had  gone  in  a  line  with 
that  island  ;  the  rest  of  the  French ''  ''t  kept  the  wind, 
and,  in  consecpience  of  its  direction,  was  in  a  bow  and 
quarter  line  ;  at  this  moment  the  French  light  squadron 
instead  of  continuing   to  bear  down  on  the  enemy. 


I!- 


»i 


4  ' 


168 


OPliltlTlONS   OF   THE   FRENCH    FLEET 


bore  away.  The  admiral,  sur[>ririO(l  at  this  rnanfpuvre, 
thought  that  Noviw  intercepted  their  wind;  to  assure 
himself  of  it,  he  signalled  him  to  lie  to,  which  the 
squadron  did  ;  a>^sured  hy  this  that  it  was  hy  no  fault 
of  wind  that  they  hore  away,  the  admiral  repeated  his 
tirst  signal  to  the  squadron  and  the  van ;  hut  it  was 
too  late,  the  English  fleet,  favored  hy  the  wi  id,  supe- 
rior in  sailing  quaiities,  heing  all  copper  fastened, 
tool:  the  resolution  of  hurrying  towards  St.  Christo- 
pher's; and  although  the  French  fleet  made  every 
ertort  to  overtake  his  rear,  which  it  even  handled 
roughly,  it  could  not  prevent  the  enemy  anchoring 
near  the  spot  from  wliich  it  had  sailed.  Then  it  took 
the  larboard  tack  to  stand  out  to  sea,  and  prepared  to 
attack  the  English  the  next  <lay  at  this  anchorage. 

The  English  admiralty  has  published  an  extract  of 
a  letter  of  .Xdmiral  Hoods,  giving  an  account  of  this 
affair;  it  contains  a  doast  good  enough  for  the  London 
mob,  but  which  can  not  come  from  an  officer  so  dis- 

• 

tinguislu'd  for  his  talents;  he  seems  to  attach  a  sort 
of  trium])h  to  oecuining  the  same  ancliorage  tliut  the 
French  hiid  b*'fore  the  cjigagemeiit.  This  is  an 
illusion  easily  destroyed  :  tliis  anchorage  could  n-.)t  be 
the  Slime,  although  on  the  same  shore,  becaiii^e  the 
Knglisli  fleet  would  tlier«'  have  been  eypo^^od  to  the 
fire  of  the  land  butte.-ies.  The  most  important  anchor- 
age for  tlic  Kiiglisli  admiral,  the  only  one  decisive  for 
raising  the  siege  of  [irimstone  Hill,  coMl(i  he  have 
taken  it  and  held  his  ground  tlK-re,  was  that  of  Sandy 


UNDKU   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


169 


Point :  there,  even  under  sail,  he  could  have  communi- 
cated directly  with  the  fortress,  he  could  have  landed 
his  troops  under  his  g-uns,  and  been  protected  by  them 
ill  case  of  attaijk ;  the  place  would  never  have  been 
totally  invested;  for  the  English  troops  landed  by 
Admiral  Hood  from  his  anchorage,  and  whom  he  was 
forced  to  reembark,  might  have  occupied  the  post 
whicii  the  cannon  of  liHmstone  Hill  obliged  Mr. 
Duchillean  to  abandon:  honce  at  Sandy  Point  they 
might  have  communicated  mth  the  besieged  place, 
and  with  tlioir  s'|uadruu,  and  the  position  of  the 
besiegers  would  have  become  very  critical ;  on  the 
other  hand  the  vaunted  anchorage,  if  it  favored  the 
landing  of  the  English  troops,  could  not  have  been 
more  useful  to  their  project  tban  it  was,  because  it 
was  too  far  from  the  besieged  place,  and  th(>  P]nglish 
corps  was  too  weak  to  cut  its  way  through  to  it. 
Thus  the  French  Heet  being  under  sail  to  windward 
of  the  English,  the  latter  had  simply  taken  the  most 
hazardous  position,  from  which  a  circumstance  beyond 
its  knowledge,  alone,  as  wo  shii'.l  see,  delivered  it. 

On  the  -itith  at  7,  A.  M.,  the  fleet  rallied  in  the 
natural  ork^r  of  battle,  on  the  starl)oard  tack;  at 
7J  it  had  orders  to  dear  for  action  ;  the  French  van 
atta<'ked  the  enemy's  rear,  several  vessels  of  which 
lay  far  from  eacih  other  and  from  the  rest  of  their 
fleet;  the  fire  of  the  French  obliged  th<^n  to  hoist  sail 
precipitately  to  gain  a  higher  n/a/lstead :  the  French 

vessels  at  the  head  "having  veered  in  succession,  the 
•22 


170 


OPERATIONS   OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


^1 


-5: 


line  was  in  nahira'  order  on  the  larboard  tack.  The 
winds  being  from  E.  to  E.  S.  E.,  another  tack  enabled 
the  French  to  attack  the  English  rear  a  Hccond  time ; 
but  only  the  head  of  the  French  line  coiild  come  into 
action,  and  the  -.vind  prevented  the  action  from  be- 
coming general. 

"We  Bhould  have  attacked  again  on  the  27th,  if  the 
Engli.^h  squadron  had  not  appeared  out  of  reach  of 
insnlt ;  the  vessels  cut  up  the  day  before  were  rcnioved 
and  eight  or  nine  of  the  largest  had  taken  their  places. 
They  were  anchored,  the  bowsprit  of  one  over  the  stern 
of  the  other;  thus  unattackable,  the  fleet  contented 
itself  with  keeping  them  there. 

On  the  28th  tbe  frigates  informed  the  admiral  that 
the  enemy's  position,  as  they  lay  at  anchor  with 
springs  on  the  cables,  was  a  perfect  chain  formed  by 
their  twenty -two  men  of  war,  the  iirst  of  which  was 
so  anchored  that  no  one  could  pass  ahead  of  it;  the 
rear  forming  the  angle  of  the  line  enclosed  their  frigates 
and  other  small  craft ;  in  consecjuence  we  contented 
ourselves  with  so  completely  intercepting  all  commu- 
nicp^'on  from  the  seaward  that  Admiral  Hood  was 
forced  to  send  and  ask  a  passport  of  the  French  admiral 
to  dispatch  his  wounded  to  Antigua. 

On  the  29th  the  English  land  forces  disembarked ; 
and  havii  ^  been  repulsed  with  great  loss,  reembarked. 
The  1V!uniph«in(,  Marquis  de  Vaudreu:',  and  Brare, 
Count  d'Arnbliniont,  arrived  from  Brest  on  the  4th 
of  February.     By  them  we  leanit  the  mischance  that 


UNDER  THE  COUNT  DE  GRASSE. 


171 


befel  the  convoy  of  which  they  formed  part.,  aud  we 
inferred  that  AdrMr.vl  Hood  knew  it  before  he  came 
to  endeavor  to  relieve  St.  Christopher's,  as  he  had  not 
preferred  to  go  and  await  the  convoy  at  the  landing 
places. 

On  the  12th  Brimstone  Hill  proposed  to  capitulate, 
and  the  13th  the  French  garrison  took  possession. 

The  forces  had  taken  on  the  17th  of  December, 
provisions  for  only  forty-seven  days,  being  all  that 
could  be  supplied.  For  the  last  ten  days  they  were 
maintained  only  by  the  prizes  taken  at  St.  Christo- 
pher's, or  from  the  neutral  vessels  which  it  had  been 
forced  to  stop ;  the  munitions  of  war  were  not  more 
plentiful,  several  vessels  had  not  enough  to  live  on  for 
thirty-six  hours  or  fight  with  for  two  ;  fortunately  pro- 
visions from  the  Mediterranean  had  reached  Martin- 
ique ;  and  it  was  announced  to  the  fleet  to  its  great 
satisfaction,  that  it  should  receive  them  at  Nevis  on 
the  14th.  To  render  the  delivery  more  prompt  ind 
convenient,  it  proceeded  to  anchor  oft"  the  town  of 
that  name,  a  league  or  a  league  and  a  half  from  the 
head  of  the  English  fleet ;  ti<f>  latter  might  have  been 
deceived  by  the  number  of  small  vessels  and  taken 
them  for  tire  ships  intended  for  it ;  so  that  while  the 
French  fleet  was  providing  for  its  urgent  necessities, 
necessities  more  imperious  than  the  duty  of  fighting, 
the  English  squadron  cut  their  cables  during  the 
night ;  and  the  better  to  conceal  their  course  made  no 


'^ET 


172 


OrERATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


signalH ;  and  falling  to  loowanl  ran  under  St.  Eusta- 
tius  to  retire  with  all  haste. 

The  Freech  fleet  anked  nothing  hetter  than  to 
engage  the  Engli?*)),  when  it  left  the  conquered  island ; 
but  it  was  out  of  provisions  and  the  admiral  could  not 
prevent  the  English  executing  their  manamvre  ;  this 
manopuvre  necessarily  led  the  two  armies  under  the 
wind,  drew  the  French  off  from  their  provisions,  and 
itK  necessity  was  so  great  that  it  could  not  defer  even 
for  tweuty-four  hours  taking  in  supplies.  Now  the 
first  car<'  of  a  commander  is  to  provision  his  nnny; 
and  tbe  best  he  could  do  was  to  provision  it  in  the 
surest,  promptest  manner,  to  the  windward  of  the 
enemy ;  he  did  so :  if  the  English,  favored  by  the 
night,  without  signals,  leaving  his  anchors,  steering 
to  leeward,  putting  boats  at  their  anchorage  with  tho 
same  lights  they  were  in  the  habit  of  showing,  leaving 
their  sick  on  their  lios])ital  slii^js,  were  fortunate 
enough  to  escape  him,  they  owed  it  only  to  the  abso- 
lute and  urgent  necessity  of  the  P^rench  fleet,  and  not 
to  the  fault  of  the  admiral  who  drew  off  from  before 
the  enemy  oidy  to  obtain  provisions,  never  was  more 
tlian  a  league  and  a  half  ofl"  kept  always  to  windward 
and  never  out  of  sight  of  their  fires ;  tliis  was  surely 
all  that  he  could  or  should  liavc  done  under  the 
circumstances. 

On  the  Kith  the  Hcct  anchored  at  the  Masse  Terre 
of  the  conquered  island,  and  began  to  reembark  the 
troops  and  artillery.     It  hoisted  sail  on  the  22d  for 


UNDER  THE  COUNT  DE  GRASSE. 


173 


Martitiique,  «teering  to  leeward  so  aw  to  take  possession 
of  the  island  of  Monserrat  on  the  way.  A  detach- 
ment of  vessels  under  M.  de  Barras,  received  its 
capitulation  on  the  sanie  terms  as  St.  Christopher's. 
On  the  night  of  the  26th  the  whole  French  fleet  was 
back  at  the  roadstead  of  Fort  Royal. 

Tlie  repairs  of  the  vessels  were  constantly  more 
numerous,  difficult  and  long;  neither  means  nor 
crews  had  been  increased ;  the  convoy  from  Europe 
was  still  expected,  and  a  veiy  considerable  supply  of 
masts,  sails,  rigging  and  extras  of  all  kinds,  as  well  as 
munitions  and  supplies  were  required.  There  was 
almost  a  iiew  equipment  to  make,  crews  to  be  aug- 
mented a  third,  ships  to  careen,  &c.,  &c.  Yet  the 
convoy  escorted  by  the  Couromie,  brought  only  three 
ships  of  the  line,  two  hundred  and  lifty  sailors,  and 
some  transports ;  the  Triomphant  had  brought  the 
account  of  the  munitions  sent  at  its  departure  on  each 
vessel,  and  it  was  easy  to  distinguish  what  was  in- 
tended for  the  fleet  from  what  was  intended  for  the 
colony.  According  to  the  project  made,  the  former 
should  have  followed  the  fleet  loaded ;  the  others 
should  have  been  discharged  at  leisure  without  retard- 
ing the  departure  of  the  fleet:  on  the  contrary  the 
cargo  of  the  ships  escorted  by  the  Couronne,  had  been 
mado  precipitately  without  a  distinct  detailed  account: 
all  was  heaped  in  pell  mell ;  all  the  ships  had  to  be 
unloaded  to  ascertain  which  belonged  to  each.  Had 
there  been  order,  the  fleet  would  have  sailed  sooner 


I '  I 


174 


OPEKATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


n 


and  tlio  enemy  would  have  been  so  unprepared  to 
lollow,  that  they  would  have  learned  its  departure 
and  the  arrival  of  the  convoy  at  the  same  time. 

After  the  revictualling  and  refitting  had  been  ac- 
celerated aH  mueh  as  circumstances  would  permit,  the 
fleet  set  sail  on  the  8th  of  April. 

On  the  9th  the  English  fleet  approached  the  French, 
whicli  was  to  windward,  covering  the  route  of  its 
convoy  towards  Guadaloupe,  and,  the  rallying  of  two 
of  his  vessels'  retained  by  a  calm  n^.-ar  Dominica:  the 
English  van  jtrofited  by  the  tirst  gusts  to  fori.:  in  line, 
while  the  rest  of  his  fleet  was  still  becalmed  under 
Dominica.  In  this  hampered  position  the  Fi-ench 
comnmnder  saw  a  chance  to  act  on  the  English  van  ; 
he  did  so  successfully :  their  van  retired  before  liis 
which  handled  it  roughly.  He  would  probably  have 
pursued  it,  had  he  not  feared  for  his  two  vessels ;  he 
was  sure  of  rallying  them  by  going  to  meet  them, 
anil  he  was  not  sure  of  taking  the  vessels  of  the  Eng- 
lish van,  which  had  been  crippled :  after  three  hours 
ti^'hting  the  aumiral  took  the  surest  course  and  rallied 
his  vessels.  He  immediately  sent  orders  to  the  convoy 
to  continue  its  route  towards  St.  Domingo ;  which  it 
did,  setting  sail  again  at  11,  V.  M. 

This  convoy  was  very  embai'rassing  before  a  supe- 
rior hostile  fleet,  all  sheathe*!  with  copper,  of  more 
even  and  quicker  sailing.     It  could  not  yet  have  made 


'  The  Chevalier  dr  (Jouneeneuiirl  Bays  the  Aiigiute  and  ZiU. 


UNDER  THE  COUNT   DE   GRASSE. 


175 


distance  enough  by  10,  A.  M. ;  the  Frencli  fleet  would 
have  soon  rejoined  it  and  the  KngliHli  been  better 
enabled  to  route  it :  thuH  tlie  Frenifh  continiied  to  ply 
to  windward  in  the  channel  of  Dominica,  keeping  the 
weather-gage  of  the  KngliHh. 

On  the  11th  the  French  hud  almost  doubled  HainteH, 
when  well  founded  fearw  arose  an  to  two  of  their  vcHHelH 
which  had  sailed  so  that  they  could  be  intercej)ted 
by  a  number  of  the  enemy's  vessels,  whose  best  sailors 
were  giving  them  a  lively  chase ;  the  whole  Krencli 
fleet  had  to  be  rallied  to  their  relief;  it  thus  lost  most 
of  what  headway  it  had  gained  over  the  enemy :  but 
it  rallied  the  vessels,  and  saw  those  in  chase  full  otf'a» 
quickly  as  possible. 

Then  constant  to  his  project  the  French  fleet  re- 
sumed the  weather-gage  and  would  have*  soon  been 
as  far  ahead  of  the  enemy  as  before,  had  not  the 
flag  slip  been  run  into  by  the  Zili'i,  by  a  viola- 
tion of  the  cvder  of  sailing  expressly  i)rescribed.' 
These  two  vessels  were  obliged  to  lay  to  to  leeward 
during  the  whole  time  it  took  them  to  get  loose,  and 
the  vessel  which  had  run  foul,  more  injured  than  the 
other,  asked  to  be  taken  in  tow,  which  was  done,  but, 
having  fallen  still  more  to  leeward,  made  signal  at 
daybreak  that  the  enemy's  fleet  was  approaching. 
Then  the  admiral,  who  was  plying  to  windward  to 
rejoin  the  fleet,  ordered  it  to  rally  and  to  form  in  lino 


>  rbis  order  was  that   "  T()u^  bftiiment    ayiijil    Ion   arinureii  h  bni 
bord  devoit  arriver,  suns  avoir  t^ifard  A  r«ncit'iiii8lfc." 


I 


I 


176 


nrERATIONS   OF   THK    FREN«^II    FLEET 


1' 


in  liis  wake  to  cover  the  Z6U  in  \tn  retreat  to  Gnada- 
loupe. 

Those  who  always  judge  by  lh«'  result,  have  not 
faile<l  to  say  that  the  admiral  should  have  abandoned 
the  Z(7<'  and  continued  his  course  without  engaging. 
Had  lie  so  detemiined  the  day  before  aiul  the  two 
preceding  days,  he  would  have  had  three  or  four 
vessels  less,  at  least  on  the  12th,  and  would  have  been 
justly  reproached  for  losing  ships  without  an  engage- 
ment. There  was  still  eight  to  ten  days'  sail ;  some 
vessels  would  have  sailed  worse  than  the  rest  or  met 
some  accident;  thus  without  striking  a  blow,  he 
would  have  diminished  his  fleet  before  reaching  St. 
Domingo,  more  than  it  would  be  by  the  most  dis- 
astrous battle ;  then  all  the  blame  would  have  fallen 
justly  on  the  admiral,  and  on  his  l)ravery  and  not  on 
his  inferiority. 

The  French  fleet  in  battle  order  was  joined  at  8,  A. 
M.,  by  the  enemy  in  an  order  which  exposed  their 
van  to  be  crushed  by  the  whole  French  tleet,  without 
giving  time  for  the  rest  of  the  English  fleet  to  prevent 
it.  The  admiral,  to  profit  by  this  unwise  disposition, 
wished  liis  whole  fleet  to  veer  at  once  to  bring  it  on 
the  same  tack  as  the  enemv ;  but  this  movement  was 
not  executed,  although  it  was  repeated  exactly  and 
known  through  the  whole  line.  It  hasbeei  pretended 
that  they  were  too  near  the  enemy  to  wear;  as  though 
one  could  be  too  near  an  enemy  when  you  wish  to 
engage  him  sharply  ;  and  as  though  the  commander's 


i 


UNDER   THE  COUNT  DE  ORASSE. 


177 


glance  did  not  hIiow  liini  tliut  wliat  waw  )»o8»il)lo  for 
li'iH  vcHHcl  waH  wo  tor  the  otherH.  The  order  to  voer  in 
»»uc(rHHi(»ii  WHH  no  bettor  exet'Uted,  though  it  wonld 
hftve  HUpplied  the  faiinro  of  the  otlior.  The  JKhnirul'ri 
rigging  wan  totally  cut  up  by  o  •  f  the  seconds  of 
tlie  KngliHli  Hag  nhip,  another  f'>-  /ii  ;■  vcHgel  lost  all 
her  nuiHts,  the  winds  chunged  in  fii  >;•  of  the  English, 
tlu'  French  line  was  cut  in  two  places  and  a  calm 
eame  on.  As  soon  as  the  winds  sprang  up,  tliey 
miij^ht  have  reformed  in  line  and  done  it  so  as  to 
render  the  English  van  useless  in  the  engagement,  for 
It  was  to  leeward.  The  admiral  gave  the  order,  but 
in  spite  of  all  his  signals  a  part  of  his  tleot  preferred  to 
run  before  the  wind  and  keep  on  obstinately,  even 
with  studding  sails. 

To  render  the  history  of  this  day  clearer,  requires 
the  signals  and  plans  before  the  eye;  but  from  what 
has  been  sumnuirily  said,  there  is  no  ofHcer  in  li  <» 
fleet,  the  least  competent  to  judge,  who  will  not  see 
that  the  tirst  order  i)Iaced  us  most  advantageously, 
and  that  after  the  calm  the  combat  might  have  been 
very  honorably  renewed. 

At  last  at  night,  after  having  been  constantly  sus- 
taini'd  by  seven  or  eight  vessels,  the  '^/V/e  de  Paris, 
long  since  abandoned  by  its  two  seconds,  without 
ammunition,  her  rigging  all  cut  away,  surrounded 
and  cannonaded  by  ten  English  vessels,  surrendered 
afti-r  twelve  hours  tight,  in  such  a  state  that  she  had 
to  be  towed  to  damaica. 
28 


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178 


OPERATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH  FLEET 


We  have  been  told  that  not  to  be  lost  in  Parisian 
circles,  it  would  have  been  more  becoming  to  blow  up 
the  flagship ;  one  must  then  be  more  ferocious  on  sea 
than  land,  and  in  France  more  than  in  other  nations. 
Neither  law  nor  honor  gives  a  captain  such  a  right 
over  his  crew,  he  has  only  himself  to  kill.  Fools  and 
cowards  need  this  means  of  escaping  shame;  but 
misfortune  does  not  humiliate  the  brave.  If  the 
Count  de  Grasse  escaped  over  three  hundred  cannon 
that  swept  his  deck,  it  is  clear  that  his  destiny  pre- 
served his  life  only  for  his  reputation  sake ;  for  the 
dead  would  all  be  wrong  and  the  acts  of  the  living  be 
whitened  at  their  expense:  this  was  well  observed  at 
St.  Domingo,  where  he  was  supposed  to  be  certainly 
killed.  As  soon  as  the  contrary  was  known,  language 
and  letters  changed. 

The  Count  de  Grasse  arrived  at  Jamaica  April  29th ; 
he  was  transferred  on  the  2d  of  May  to  Spanish  towoi, 
and  the  19th  of  the  same  month  to  the  Sandwich, 
commanded  by  Admiral  Parker,  who  was  to  escort 
a  fleet  of  merchantmen  to  Europe.  He  sailed  May 
25th  and  reached  Portsmouth  on  the  Slst  of  July, 
arriving  in  London  on  the  3d  of  August  by  his 
Britannic  majesty's  orders.  He  had  scarcely  entered 
the  lodgings  prepared  for  him  and  the  French  officers 
when  General  Conway,  by  the  king's  orders,  wished 
to  give  hinx  a  guard  of  honor,  which  he  refused.  Soon 
after  high  officers  of  the  court  came  from  his  majesty 
to  invite  him  to  the  palace  of  St.  James,  t)  occupy 


UNDER   THE   COUNT  DE   GRASSE. 


179 


the  apartments  prepared  for  him.  Sensible  as  the 
Count  de  Grasse  was  to  this  honor,  he  begged  his 
majesty  to  excuse  his  not  accepting  it,  and  leaving 
his  comrades.  An  hour  after  the  king  sent  to  hire 
for  him  the  whole  house  where  he  lodged,  ordered  his 
expenses  and  those  of  all  the  French  officers  to  be 
defrayed  during  their  stay  in  his  kingdom,  and  at  the 
same  time  announced  that  he  expected  to  see  him  the 
following  Friday. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  he  with  the  French  officers 
had  the  honor  of  being  presented  to  their  Britannic 
majesties  and  the  royal  family,  who  lavished  on  him 
the  most  flattering  marks.' 

The  visits,  invitations  from  the  ministiy,  the  eager- 
ness of  many  leading  men,  the  crowd  at  his  door,  and 
wherever  he  passed,  repeating  their  expressions  of 
consideration,  are  no  unequivocal  sign  in  a  couutiy 
where  actors  of  every  order  and  quality  are  hissed 
and  where  the  ignorant  and  the  cowardly  can  never 
hope  to  draw  the  crowd. 

The  king  of  England  had  himself  given  orders  to 
Admiral  Keppel  to  convey  the  Count  de  Grasse  and 
the  Fi'ench  officers  to  France  on  vessels  chartered  at 
the  expense  of  the  admiralty,  as  soon  as  they  were 
ready.  He  left  London  on  the  12th,  reached  Calais  on 
the  13th,  and  Paris  on  the  morning  of  the  16th. 

•  The  king  speaking  uf  the  components  of  the  French  navy,  wittily 
termed  the  intruded  captains  and  admirals  as  inspired  officers,  probably 
with  the  same  views  on  this  matter  ns  the  famous  Admiral  De 
Ruyter. —  Vie  de  Ruyter,  Amsterdam,  1(598 /o/.,^.  098. 


180 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH  FLEET 


On  the  18th  the  Count  de  Grasue  presented  himself 
before  the  king  and  obtained  all  that  he  could  desire; 
a  severe  examination  of  his  conduct  and  a  council  of 
war.  This  favor  would  have  been  complete,  had  the 
result  been  more  prompt;  many  think  it  might  have 
been,  if,  as  is  said,  the  Count  de  Grasse  simply  pre- 
sents himself  as  captain  of  his  vessel  and  admiral  of 
the  fleet  without  charges  against  any  one.  Lock's 
book  and  the  plans  of  the  battles  are  the  only  docu- 
ments of  the  trial.  The  courage  of  the  captain,  the 
intelligence  of  the  commander,  are  the  only  questions. 
The  commanders  of  the  fleet  have  then  only  to 
produce  the  logs  and  plans ;  as  to  the  execution  of 
the  signals,  the  commander  is  not  responsible,  and 
this  may  be  ample  matter  for  another  court  mai-tial. 

All  can  feel  how  painful  it  is  to  languish  under  the 
public  censure,  for  the  public  asks  success.  It  must 
even  be  avowed  that  fortune  most  surely  indicates  the 
hero  to  the  crowd  ;  with  then) '  fortunate  are  always 
skillful  and  prudent.  Rept-i  .auipaigns,  combats, 
decisive  success,  are  lost  in  a  single  day,  especially  if, 
beside  the  disfavor  of  a  last  misfortune,  one  has  under- 
gone, during  the  whole  course  of  his  command,  a 
concerted  system  of  calumny,  which  spared  neither 
forged  anecdotes  nor  false  reports,  nor  odious  suppres- 
sions nor  mercenary  pens  to  accredit  them  as  occasion 
required. 

Although  time  dispels  illusions,  it  is  no  less  afilict- 
ing  not   to  enjoy  one's   reputation    till   after  death, 


UNDER   THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


181 


especially  after  having  always  lived  more  on  consider- 
ation than  reward ;  it'  one  commits  no  other  crime 
against  his  country  than  the  unskillfulness  or  the 
want  of  discipline  of  his  subordinates ;  and  none 
against  some  enemies,  but  the  honor  of  despising 
them,  and  the  frankness  of  saying  so. 

When  command  has  been  i-eached  only  by  cam- 
paigns and  combats,  an  old  sailor  has  often  more  the 
talent  and  even  the  roughness  of  the  trade  than  the 
turn  and  grace  of  society ;  if  his  innocence  supposes 
too  many  guilty,  it  thereby  augments  the  number  of 
those  interested  in  his  fall.  Too  isolated,  too  awk- 
ward moreover  to  make  u  party,  he  can  have  only  a 
few  gratuitous  benevolent  pai'tisans. 

When  we  reflect  on  destiny,  the  Count  de  Grasse 
might  have  had  a  more  useful  one.  Had  he  been 
dishonored  from  youth,  driven  from  his  native  land 
by  public  contempt,  he  would  have  gone  pirating  on 
distant  shores,  and  then  escaped  only  by  a  royal  hand 
from  the  just  reward  with  which  the  English  repay  a 
breach  of  parol,  this  debut  might  yet  have  closed  by 
honors  and  reputation.' 

Had  he  constantly  had  lits  of  baseness  and  hauteur, 
timidity  and  rodomontade,  familiarity  and  indiscre- 
tion with  his  subalterns,  dissimulation  and  childish 
jealousy  with  the  superiors,  lucid  moments  of  counsel 
and  reason  with  the  rarest  incoherences,  some  ideas 


>  AH  thia  alludes  to  d'EHtiting. 


\  •■ 


182 


OPERATIONS  OF   THE   FRENCH   FLEET 


M 


at  first  Bight,  bold  and  luminous,  always  incomplete 
or  abortive  on  the  whole  or  in  execution  ;  if  the  pro- 
ject agreed  on  the  evening  had  been  sacrificed  to  the 
dreams  of  the  night,  it  is  clear  that  the  wise  and 
especially  medical  men  would  have  sought  in  the 
animal  economy  the  solution  of  all  these  contradic- 
tions ;  especially  if  they  were  told  of  an  old  disposition 
from  birth  to  suppose  fabulous  adventures,  imaginary 
combat«,  visions  by  night  and  broad  day,  &c.  Yet 
some  people  would  have  taken  these  freaks  for  ideas 
and  this  folly  for  genius. 

Then  the  Count  de  Grasse  become  a  great  man, 
might  have  left  port,  without  even  looking  at  his  masts. 
He  might  have  exposed  himself  to  perish  in  a  neigh- 
boring gulf,  lose  precious  time  in  passing  the  straits 
to  range  obstinately  the  opposite  coast,'  then  throw 
himself  into  a  calm  so  as  not  to  follow  one  of  the  two 
common  routes,  and  show  on  all  occasions  the  most 
settled  love  for  this  bizaiTc  and  dangerous  tactics 
against  winds  and  coasts,  that  fortune  would  some- 
times seem  to  have  been  exhausted  not  in  giving  him 
success,  but  in  getting  him  out  of  scrapes. 

He  would  always  have  advanced  or  fallen  back  at 
the  wrong  time,  had  800  men  killed  in  an  impossible 


■The  Count  d'Eslaing  Bailed  from  Toulon,  April  13,  177H,  and  by 
not  putting  in  at  Hieres  was  drawn  into  the  gulf  of  Genoa;  the 
squadron,  poorly  fitted,  lost  her  masts,  and  he  hy  the  delay  lost  the 
opportunity  of  surprising  the  English  in  the  Delaware. 


■ 


'W0^- 


UNDER  THE   COUNT   DE  GRASSE. 


183 


attack,  instead  of  easily  destroying  a  fleet  at  anchor.* 
He  might  indeed  have  taken  an  ill  defended  island 
and  bruit  about  this  victory  which  in  the  eyes  of 
sensible  people  deserved  punishment,  if  only  for  the 
fine  occasion  lost  of  seizing  several  ships  of  the  line 
and  a  whole  convoy.* 

At  last,  for  his  final  adieu,  he  might  have  gone 
and  gratuitously  sacrificed  1,500  men'  and  then  de- 
serted his  fleet  that  in  vain  awaited  him  for  several 
days.  He  would  have  been  received  none  the  less  as 
a  hero  on  his  arrival,  and  in  his  happy  hand  all  would 
have  become  victories  and  laurels.  Be  not  surprised, 
the  road  to  reach  glory  surely,  is  a  simple  one. 

Ist.  If  the  Count  de  Grasse  had  entered  the  navy 
as  a  general,  he  would  infallibly  have  decried  hia 
service  to  render  it  suspected  and  exceptionable.  The 
sensible  people  v/ho  compose  it,  would  have  cried 
very  uselessly,  that  it  never  was  a  crime  for  a  general 
not  to  have  been  born  a  soldier,  nor  for  an  admiral 
not  to  have  been  a  sailor  or  midshipman.  That  they 
know  wondrous  well  that  superior  people  fly  where 
others  only  crawl;  that  they  have  on  the  contrary 
been  enraptured  to  see  a  man  announced  as  entei-pris- 
ing  arrive,  in  the  hope  that  he  might  emancipate  the 
generals  from  the  tutelage  of  bureaus  and  cabinets ; 


I  Mis  aolion  with  Barring) on  and  repulse  at  St.  Lucia. 

'St.  Vincent's. 

'The  attack  on  Snvnnnali. 


1  ,' 


U-; 


[ 


184 


OPERATIONS  OF  THE   PREKCH   FLEET 


but  that  it  must  liowcver  be  avowed,  that  although 
LuculluH  left  Rome  a  great  eaptain,  we  iiiuHt  not  con- 
clude that  all  the  admirals  who  start  from  Paris  have 
the  same  privilege.    •  '■-'  -    =   '•       -     • 

2d.  To  give  one's  name  to  some  fashions,  figure  as 
a  sliop  sign,  subsidize  gazetteers  and  journalists,  buy  up 
hawkers  of  songs  and  verses,  write  to  merchants  that 
the  art  of  convoying  is  at  last  discovered,  that  you  are 
the  only  man  of  precaution  for  their  interests;  ask 
their  advice  and  ordei-s,  and  call  yourself  with  the  viost 
jyrofoiatd  esteem  avd  rei*])ect,  their  very  humble,  jfc.  Then 
you  get  proclaimed  in  the  squares  of  commerce,  in 
the  public  papers,  applauded  at  the  opera  and  played 
on  the  boulevards. 

But  enough  on  the  plan  of  fortune  that  his  friends 
might  have  desired  for  the  (V)unt  de  Grasse:  this  is 
only  a  slight  interest  when  we  consi<lcr  the  general 
cause ;  for  the  navj'  and  the  whole  nation  is  to  be 
thought  of.  If  all  this  becomes  a  war  of  pen  and 
intrigue ;  if  by  embarrassment,  nuuiagement,  or  a 
false  and  cruel  sensibility,  it  is  sought  to  draw  the 
curtain  over  the  past,  the  present  and  the  future  are 
lost,  and  the  12th  of  April,  17S2,  on  the  first  occasion 
will  perhaps  decide  a  battle. 

If  it  is  feared  that  all  was  not  prejudged  and  settled, 
and  that  there  were  no  judges,  we  might  seek  them 
in  a  rival  nation,  enlightened  aiul  equitable  however; 
the  peace  otters  a  fine  occasion  of  sending  all  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  examination  there,  and  the  Hoods, 


UNDER   THE  COUNT   DE  ORASSE. 


186 


Howes,  Parkers,  Barringtons,  Digbys,  Graves,  &c., 
will  judge  the  cause.  '-  <  ^-  ,..  i'  vv  ••  '' ' '  \  . 
Awaiting  the  result  of  an  afiair  on  which  all  the 
navies  of  the  world  keep  an  attentive  eye,  this  is  the 
testimony  of  a  witness  who  has  not  lost  sight  of  the 
flag  since  1781.  His  grade  gives  no  great  weight  to 
his  suffrage ;  but  as  he  speaks  only  of  what  he  has 
seen,  he  believes  he  owes  the  testimony  to  his  country 
and  to  truth,  and  he  would  not  fear  to  give  it  or  his 
name  before  the  crowd  of  milliners,  painters  of  tavern 
signs,  cutlers,  song  hawkers,  gazetteers,  plagiarists 
pit  yellers,  maids  and  valets  of  the  wardrobe,  court- 
iers of  intrigue  and  calumny,  and  above  all  before  the 
director  and  hero  of  the  troupe. 


24 


APPENDIX. 


/ 


•    11 


SIEGE  OF  YORKTOWN,  ETC.      . 

litiUr  from   Count  de  Graane  to  General  Washington, 
concerning  Operations  in  the  Chesapeake. 


Sir, 


C'ai'k  Hknri,  28  Hcptember.  1781. 


The  intelligence,  which  yuur  Kxcelluncy  huH  Huiit  tu  me  by 
the  aid-de-camp  of  Count  de  Kochambeau,  iu  moat  distreBsing. 
I  know  but  little  of  the  evil  and  the  progress,  which  this 
operation  may  effect,  but  I  perceive  that  our  position  is  changed 
by  the  arrival  of  Admiral  Digby. 

The  enemy  is  now  nearly  o<|ual  to  us  in  strength,  and  it 
would  be  imprudent  in  me  to  place  myself  in  a  situation,  that 
would  prevent  my  attacking  them,  should  they  attempt  to 
afford  succour.  I  have  the  honor,  the.-.Jbre,  to  propose  to 
your  Excellency  tliat  I  should  leave  two  vessels  ut  the  mouth 
of  York  River,  and  draw  around  mo  all  the  rest,  excepting 
the  corvettes  and  frigates,  which  have  been  blockading  James 
River  since  my  arrival,  and  which  are  the  Charlotte^  the 
Cormorant,  the  Sandwich  and  one  other  frigate.  The  rest  I 
shall  bring  together,  in  order  to  sail  and  keep  the  sea, 
that  in  case  the  enemy  attempt  to  force  the  passage,  I  may 
attack   them   in  a  less  disadvantageous  position.     But  it  is 


IM 


APPENDIX. 


pouible,  that  tho  iMue  nf  the  combat  luay  force  un  to  leeward, 
and  deprive  ui  of  tho  power  of  returning.  Under  thoae 
oircuniHtHnceH,  what  could  you  do,  what  would  be  your  re- 
■ourcoH  ?  I  can  not  itacrifico  tho  army  under  my  conimund, 
and  my  prciicnt  poaition  iH  neither  favorable  for  attacking,  nor 
lecuro  in  cane  of  a  gale.  .,, 

The  anchorage  at  York,  on  which  wo  were  agreed,  dooH  not 
appear  more  suitable,  considering  the  maritime  forces  of  the 
enemy ;  because  it  would  place  mo  in  a  very  unfavorable  posi- 
tion, and  would  have  no  effect  in  preventing  the  reinforcement 
from  entering.  I  see  no  resource  but  the  offing,  and  possibly 
that  may  not  leave  me  free  to  return  within  tho  Capes.  I 
shall  wait  impatiently  for  your  answer,  and  that  of  M.  de 
Rochambeau,  to  whom  this  letter  is  addressed  in  common  with 
you.  I  bog  you  to  communicate  it  to  him,  and  to  send  your 
advice  and  opinions  on  tho  subject. 

If  my  troops,  or  those  of  M.  do  Ht.  Himou,  remain  with  you, 
the  two  vessels  and  tho  corvettes  at  James  River  will  be 
sufficient  for  you.  I  will  sail  with  my  forces  towards  New 
York,  and  1  may  possibly  do  more  for  the  common  cause  than 
by  remaining  here  an  idle  spectator.  If  the  enemy  do  not 
come  out,  it  is  evidently  because  they  dare  not.  We  shall 
then  consider  what  course  to  take.  In  tho  meantime  you  will 
push  Cornwaliis  vigorously,  and  we  will  act  in  concert,  each 
on  his  own  side.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  respectful  con- 
sideration, &c. 

Count  dk  Orashe. 


Letter  of  Gen.  Washington  to  Count  de  Grasse. 


Sir, 


WiLLlAMSBUROii,  22  September,  1781. 


The  enclosed  letter  for  your  Excellency,  and  the  copies  of 
others  to  Count  do  Rochambeau  and  myself,  have  this  moment 
come  to  my  hands.     I  deem  the  intelligence  they  contain  of 


APl'KNDIX. 


181) 


HO  much  importance,  that  I  havu  thuuf(ht  It  pro|M)r  to  traiiNinit 
theiu  iiiinicdiutcly  to  you  by  thu  Hnroii  (Mimoii,  ono  of  tliu  uuIm- 
(lo-onnip  to  Cuuiit  do  lloohutiilHrnu.'     1  am,  duar  Hir,  ko. 


ThiR  lott«r,  HUHtaiiiod  by  tho  uxplniiuttoiiN  mid  urguiiiontn  of 
the  Marquis  de  liafuyutte,  priiduottd  n  chuiiKfl  in  thu  HchomoM 
of  Count  do  OrnHHo;  iind  ho  iigrood  to  rctniiin  within  tho 
CapoH,  and  blockade  tho  buy  durin){  tho  Hiogo.  Ho  laid  tho 
matter  before  a  council  of  war.  "Tho  rooult  haM  boon,"  Muid 
ho  in  hiM  reply,  '*thut  tho  plan  I  had  Hu^^ontod  waH  the  moHt 
brilliant  and  gloriouM,  but  it  would  not  fultill  tho  viowM  wo 
had  propoHod.  It  Ih  conHoquontly  decided,  that  a  largo  part 
of  tho  fleet  Mhall  anchor  in  York  lliver,  th"*  four  or  five 
veMolH  Hhall  bo  Htationed  ho  aH  to  paNN  up  and  down  in  JamoH 
River,  and  thnt  you  Hhull  aid  uh  with  tho  nioann  to  erect  u 
battery  on  Point  ('onifort,  where  wo  can  place  cannon  and 
mortarH.  Wo  nhall  iinniodiiitety  proceod  to  oxocuto  thin 
urrangomcnt,  and  I  huHten  to  give  you  iiotiuo,  that  wo  may  act 
ill  ooncort  fur  tho  advancouiont  of  our  opuratioiiN." 


iti 


Ai'counI  of  de  Orasae'^  (yonijitinf  of    Tdhnf/o,  from  (he 
Gazette  de  France,  Any,  10,  17HI. 

The  king'H  floot,  commanded  by  llio  (!ouiit  de  OraHMo,  had 
gained  Martinicu  tho  2Hth  of  April.  J!)  thu  afterno(m  they 
doHcried  the  oneniy'8  fleet,  At  H  in  tho  evening  tho  admiral 
learned  that  Fort  lloyal  wiih  blocked  up  by  Hoventoon  KngliHh 
HhipR  and  five  frigatoH  or  othi  <iglit  vohhoIh,  Tho  next  morning 
at  break  of  day,  the  fleet  Mtoerod  for  Fort  Uoyal  with  itx  convoy, 
and  at  half  past  eleven  the  two  fleetM  wore  within  cannon  Hhot. 
The  engagement  began  and  tho  Count  do  OruHHo  gave  orders 
for  tho  c(mvoy  to  put  into  Fort  lloyat,  whilHt  the  two  fleets 

■The  intelligence  contained  In  tlie  lei  lent  w»pi,  tlial  Admiral  Digby 
had  just  arrived  at  New  York  wilb  a  rel»rui'coineiil  of  six  Bhipa  of  the 
line. 


1'^ 


ir 


190 


APPENDIX. 


were  engaged.  From  the  beginning  of  the  action  the  enemy 
crowded  sail ;  the  French  pursued  them  thirty  leagues  to  the 
westward  of  St.  Lucia;  and  having  no  hopes  of  coming  up 
with  them,  returned  to  Martinico,  where  the  fleet  anchored 
the  6th  of  May. 

The  Sieur  Fournicr  de  Bellevue,  lieutenant,  died  of  the 
wound  he  received  in  the  engagement.  The  Sieur  de  Perigny 
of  the  marine  guard  had  an  arm  shot  off. 

As  soon  as  the  (^unt  de  Grasse  was  joined  by  the  Marquis 
de  Bouill^,  Governor  General  of  Martinico,  they  concerted 
together  an  expedition  against  the  island  of  Tobago ;  but  in 
order  to  conceal  that  operation,  and  take  oflf  the  enemy's 
attention,  it  was  agreed  to  miiko  u  false  attack,  with  1,500  men 
on  St.  Lucia. 

In  consequence  of  this  project  the  Marquis  de  Bouill<5  set  out 
the  8th  of  May,  with  the  troops  for  the  false  attack,  and  the 
squadron  sailed  the  9th  with  a  reinforcement  of  troops ;  those 
destined  to  attack  the  island  of  Ti-iago  under  the  command  of 
the  Sieur  de  Bhinchelandc,  went  off  at  the  same  time  under 
the  protection  of  the  ships  le  Pluton  and  lit  Serapk,  commanded 
by  Count  d'Albert  de  Rions.  On  the  10th  at  midnight,  the 
troops  were  landed  under  the  fire  of  the  batteries  of  Gros  Islet 
of  St.  Lucia ;  the  enemy's  cannon  did  no  damage  nor  occasioned 
any  loss.  At  2  o'clock  the  troops  were  on  land,  and  the  boats 
under  sail ;  the  fleet  to  the  windward  of  St.  Lucia  covered  the 
expedition.  The  guard  was  surprised,  the  sentinel  killed, 
and  an  officer  and  94  soldiers  taken,  who  occupied  the  town  of 
Gros  Islet. 

The  Mar({uis  de  Bouill<^,  informed  of  the  position  of  the 
enemy,  who  had  fallen  back  to  their  posts,  and  being  well  in- 
formed that  the  Morne  Fortun<>  could  not  be  taken,  because 
the  island  had  received  a  reinforcement  of  GOO  men  two  days 
before,  made  his  troops  rei'uibark  the  12th  in  the  night,  to  the 
number  of  1,500  men,  leaving  only  2  behind,  who  had  strayed 
in  the  island ;  and  bringing  away  with  him  120  prisoners,  a 
great  number  of  muskctn,  clothing,  kc. 


APPENDIX. 


191 


The  fleet  cruised  till  the  15th,  to  windward  of  St.  Lucia;  it 
then  returned  to  Fort  Royal ;  the  Marquis  de  Bouill4  embarked 
on  board  of  it  with  3,000  men ;  the  25th  it  put  to  sea,  anU  the 
30th,  in  the  morning,  was  in  sight  of  the  island  of  Tobago. 

They  discovered  some  enemy's  ships  to  windward  j  it  was  a 
division  of  six  ships,  with  as  many  transports,  that  were  going 
to  the  relief  of  tb"  i  island ;  that  division  yvp.:,  chased  by  our 
fleet,  but  could  come  up  with  only  one  vessel  on  the  lookout, 
which  was  taken. 

The  Sieui  de  Blanchelande  had  happily  eflected  his  debark- 
ation the  24th,  under  cover  of  the  ships,  the  Pluto  and  the 
J'Jxpen'meiit,  which  had  driven  the  enemy  from  the  battery ; 
he  had  taken  the  town  of  Scarborough,  and  a  little  fort  that 
prelected  it;  but  the  English  had  entrenched  themselves  on  a 
ver^  ''igh  mountain,  with  cannon,  provisions  and  800  men. 

The  31st,  the  Marquis  du  Chilleau  landed  with  the  battalion 
of  Viennoit,  at  Man  of  War  bay,  to  windward  of  the  island ; 
the  Marquis  de  Bouill^  disembarked  with  the  battalion  of 
Dillon  and  300  grenadiers  and  chasseurs  of  the  rAginjents  of 
Armaguac  and  Auxerrois,  in  Courland  bay;  tLe  Count  de 
Dillon,  the  Count  de  Damoy,  and  the  Marquis  de  Livarot, 
landed  with  the  rest  of  the  troops. 

The  Marquis  de  Bouill^  having  marched  to  S<^arborough, 
found  there  the  troops  commanded  by  the  Sieur  do  Blanche- 
lande,  in  sight  of  the  enemy,  who  had  intrenched  themselves 
on  the  Morne  Fortun6  to  the  number  of  3  or  400  troops,  and 
4  or  500  militia,  a  number  of  negro  chasseurs,  seven  pieces  of 
cannon,  and  two  obitzcrs.  It  was  decided  to  attack  that  post 
with  2,000  men,  who  were  assembled  in  a  moment  under  the 
command  of  the  Manjuis  de  Bouill6. 

The  Morne  Concorde  was  abandoned  in  the  night :  the 
enemy  being  informed  of  the  arrival  of  the  French  troops,  were 
in  full  march,  after  having  spiked  up  their  guns;  the  van  of 
our  troops  pursued  them,  and  all  the  rest  soon  followed,  the 
Viscount  de  Dames  had  orders  to  take  post  on  the  Morne 
Concorde. 

The  enemy  was  pursued  a  whole  day ;  the  heat  was  excessive. 


.:»  \ 


192 


APPENDIX. 


the  roads  bad,  and  Btrewedwith  English  Holdiers  dead  or  dying 
of  fatigue:  the  French  troops  could  no  longer  stand  it,  and 
there  remained  only  about  150  chasseurs  of  Walsh  and  Koyal 
Gonitois  in  the  van  guard,  when  they  came  up  with  the  Eng- 
lish troops  who  had  halted  in  a  defile. 

Major  Ferguson,  commandant  general  of  the  island,  then 
capitulated;  and  on  the  2d  of  June,  the  governor  and  the 
garrison  laid  down  their  arms  and  their  standards. 

The  garrison  consisted  of  about  400  men  of  the  86th  regi- 
ment and  of  the  artillery,  300  of  which  were  embarked  on 
board  of  the  French  ships;  between  4  and  500  Scotchmen 
composed  the  militia,  which  was  very  fine  and  equal  to  regular 
troops. 

We  have  not  yet  an  exact  account  of  the  stores  taken  ;  it  is 
estimated  that  there  must  be  50  pieces  of  large  cannon,  seven 
field  pieces  and  two  brass  obitzers. 


Journal  of  the  Operations  of  the  Fleet  under  Count  de 
Grasse,  abridged  from  the  Gazette  de  France  of  the  20th 
of  November. 

[Alraon's  Remembrancer,  xiii,  40.] 

Comte  de  (Jrassc  after  a  very  short  passage  from  Brest, 
arrived  the  29th  of  April,  oif  Martinico,  whence  he  drovt  off" 
18  English  ships  of  the  line,  which  had  blockaded  that  place  for 
the  space  of  50  days.  As  they  had  the  advantage  both  of  wind 
and  swiftness,  the  comte  was  obliged  to  drop  the  chase,  and 
enter  Fort  Royal.  A  feint  attack  was  made  upon  St.  Lucia, 
when  the  real  intention  wa.s  to  take  Tobago,  which  colony  was 
reduced,  in  the  very  sight  even  of  Rodney  himself,  who,  with 
22  ships  against  24,  was  pleased  to  stand  an  unconcerned 
spectator,  keeping  an  awful  distance,  and  constantly  refusing 
coming  to  action,  which  the  French  offered  him  with  a  good 
grace.     The  5th  of  August,  the  fleet  weighed  anchor  from  St. 


APPENDIX. 


108 


Domingo,  and  on  the  30th  arrived  in  the  Bay  of  Chesapeak. 
The  difipatches  of  Generals  Washington  and  Rochambeau, 
received  by  Comte  de  (Irasse,  informed  him  of  the  situation 
of  their  army,  and  the  success  which  the  British  arms  had 
obtained  in  Virginia  and  Maryland.  The  frigate  Concorde, 
by  which  the  intelligence  had  been  conveyed,  was  sent  back 
to  acquaint  the  above  generals  that  the  French  fleet  was 
arrived  off  Cape  Henry.  Here  the  comte  took  up  3,300  men, 
under  the  command  of  Marquis  St.  Simon,  and  distributed 
them  on  boai  '  the  28  ships  of  war  which  composed  his  fleet. 
Comte  Barras,  informed  of  the  disposition,  and  thinking  that 
his  union  with  the  Comte  de  Grasse  would  be  of  the  greatest 
service,  cheerfully  renounced  the  superior  command  which  he 
had  in  the  northern  parts,  and  sailed  for  the  Chesapeake.  The 
Glorieiix,  the  Aigrette,  and  the  Dili'gente,  sailed  before  the 
fleet  and  took  the  advice  boat  Loyalist.  The  Ghrieux  dropped 
anchor  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  York  and  next  day  being 
reinforced  by  the  Vail/ant  and  the  Triton,  the  river  James 
was  also  shut  up,  and  every  means  taken  to  prevent  the  r3treat 
of  Lord  Cornwallis  to  Carolina.  Marquis  Saint  Simon,  with 
his  3,300  men,  arrived  at  the  head  of  the  river  James,  on  the 
2d  of  September,  the  Marquis  do  La  Fayette  on  the  3d,  v;ith  a 
body  of  troops  under  his  command ;  and  on  the  4th  they  pro- 
ceeded to  Williamsburgh,  five  leagues  from  York.  The  fleet, 
moored  at  Lynn  Haven,  was  waiting  for  intelligence  concern- 
ing the  march  of  (leneral  Washington  ;  as  also  the  return  of 
their  boats  and  sloops,  when  on  the  5th  the  enemy's  fleet  was 
descried  bearing  down  to  the  Chesapeake  with  crowded  sails. 
Comte  de  Grasse  instantly  dispatched  orders  to  recall  the  rowing 
boats,  which  were  taking  in  water,  and  directed  the  fleet  to  be 
in  readiness  for  weighing,  which  was  effected  by  noon,  when 
they  formed  themselves  in  a  line. 

Notwithstanding  the  absence  of  1,800  men  and  90  oflScers 

employed  in  landing  the  troops,  in  less  than  three-quarters  of 

an  hour,  the  whole  line  was  formed  in  the  following  order : 

Pluto,    Bourgogne,    Marseillois,    DiaUinic,   Refi&chl,   Auguste, 

25 


■<!• 


194 


APPENDIX. 


Suiiit  fJsprif,  Cuton,  Cfesnr,  Dentin,  Vitle  de  Paris,  Vic- 
toire,  Sceptre,  Northumherlanil ,  Palmier,  Solitaire,  Citoj/en, 
Scipion,  Ma<innnime,  Ilercule,  Laiujuedoc,  Zili,  Hector,  and 
Siiiveraiii.  The  enemy  had  kept  the  wind,  forming  them- 
Belvea  in  a  line  upon  the  starboard  tack.  At  2  o'clock  they 
tacked  altogether  on  the  same  tack  with  us,  without  being, 
nevertheless,  drawn  out  in  parallel  line ;  the  rear  of  Admiral 
Graves  being  infinitely  to  the  windward  of  his  van,  the  head- 
most ships  of  the  French  fleet  were  by  the  current,  too  far  to 
windward,  to  keep  in  a  regular  line.  At  4  o'clock  the  action 
began  at  the  van  commanded  by  Sieur  de  Bougainville,  with  a 
very  brisk  tiro,  and  successively  all  the  ships  of  the  main  body 
came  in  for  their  share.  At  5,  the  wind  having  continued  in 
its  variation,  the  French  van  still  remained  too  far  to  wind- 
ward :  that  of  Admiral  Graves  was  very  ill  treated,  and  this 
officer  improved  the  advantage  of  the  wind,  to  keep  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  avoid  being  attacked  by  the  French  rear.  The 
Hetting  of  the  sun  terminated  this  combat. 

The  7th,  at  noon,  the  wind  shifted  favorably  for  the  French 
fleet.  Conite  de  G  rsisse  drew  near  to  the  enemy,  and  manoeuvred 
during  the  evening,  in  order  to  keep  the  wind  in  the  night. 
The  Hth  at  the  dawn.  Admiral  (J raves  improved  a  favorable 
gale,  in  an  endeavor  to  gain  the  wind  of  the  French.  In  the 
evening  of  the  JMh,  Comte  de  (irasse,  by  a  skillful  manoeuvre 
had  the  great  advantage  of  being  idde  to  crowd  more  sail,  his 
ships  having  suffered  much  less  tiian  those  of  the  Knglish 
squadron;  but  iti  the  night  the  enemy  disapjteared.  C'omte 
de  Gras.«c  seeing  the  difliculty  there  was  of  forcing  Admiral 
Graves  to  an  action,  and  fearing,  lest  by  means  of  some  favor- 
able wind,  the  enemy  would  get  before  him  to  the  Chesapeake, 
returned  thither  to  continue  his  operations.  The  11th,  the 
two  frigates  lilchnwud  and  //•/)!,  which  sailed  the  evening 
before  from  tlie  bay,  where  they  had  been  to  cut  off  the  buoys 
of  the  fleet  of  the  C'omte  de  Gra*>se,  fell  into  his  hands. 

The  French  fleet,  in  the  affair  of  the  Sth,  consisted  of  24 
ships  of  war  and  two  frigates.     Admiral  Graves,  reinforced  by 


APPENDIX. 


195 


Hood,  had  20  sail  of  the  line,  two  of  them  three  deckers,  and 
nine  frigates  and  advice  boats;  according  to  their  own  account, 
five  of  their  principal  ships  were  considerably  damaged,  and 
especially  the  Tcrrilde,  of  74  guns,  the  sixth  ship  of  the  line, 
which  they  set  on  fire  on  the  9th  at  night;  as  it  was  impossible 
to  keep  her  above  water.  The  15  ships  first  above  mentioned, 
in  the  French  line  were  all  that  were  engaged,  and  opposed  to 
the  same  number  of  the  enemy's  ships;  five  of  the  English 
rear  having  refused  to  come  within  reach.  The  French  fleet 
on  this  occasion  lost  Capt.  Boades  of  the  Kefltchi;  Lieut. 
Dufe  d'Orvault,  major  of  the  blue  squadron;  Khaal,  a  Swede 
and  midshipman  on  board  the  Caton;  cfc  la  ViUeou,  auxiliary 
officer  on  board  the  Diaileme;  180  wounded;  in  all  killed  and 
wounded,  200. 

Meanwhile  the  combined  armies  of  America  and  France  had 
reached  the  mouth  of  Elk  river,  the  van  guard  under  the  command 
of  Comte  de  Custine,  who  had  embarked  on  board  country 
vessels  arrived  at  Williamsburgh  the  19th,  the  rest  of  the 
army,  commanded  by  Baron  de  Viomesnil,  having  marched  as 
far  as  Baltimore,  took  shipping  there,  on  board  frigates  and 
transports  sent  by  Oomte  de  Urasse,  On  the  24th  they  all 
met  at  Williamsburgh;  there  Generals  Washington  and  lloch- 
ambeau  had  arrived  on  the  18th  by  land,  having  only  two  aids 
de  camp  iu  their  train.  On  the  I8th  the  generals  went  on 
board  the  Ville  de  Fon's.  in  order  to  consult  with  Comte  de 
Urasse  on  the  best  methods  to  be  pursued.  The  French 
admiral  left  Lynn  Haven,  where  the  ships  could  not  be  safe, 
and  went  to  that  which  is  above  Milbank  ground  and  Horse- 
shoe, where  they  dropped  ani^hor  in  a  line  in  order  to  prevent 
Admiral  Graves,  now  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  Admiral 
Digby,  from  giving  any  assistance  to  Lord  Cornwallis.  Three 
ships  were  also  appointed  to  shut  up  the  entrance  of  James 
river.  On  the  Hist  800  men  from  the  marines  were  sent  as  a 
reinforcement  to  the  Sieur  de  Choisy,  who  then  blockaded 
Gloucester,  with  the  Duke  of  Lauzun's  legion  and  2,000 
Americans.     Yorktown  was    invested    on    the    29th  and    the 


196 


APPENDIX. 


trench  on  the  7th  of  October,  P.  M,  On  the  17th  Lord 
Gornwallis  desired  a  suspennion  of  hostilities  for  24  hours 
(General  Burgoyne  had  signed  four  years  ago  on  the  same 
day,  the  convention  of  Saratoga).  Two  hours  were  granted 
him,  and  then  he  made  overtures  for  capitulation.  A  whole 
day  was  taken  up  in  debating  about  the  articles,  which  at 
length  were  concluded  and  signed  the  19th. 

In  the  posts  of  York  and  Gloucester  were  found  6,000 
regulars,  English  and  Hessians;  11  pair  of  colors;  1,500 
seamen;  106  guns  of  different  bores,  75  of  which  were  brass 
ordnance;  8  mortars;  about  40  ships,  1  of  them  of  50  guns, 
which  was  burnt;  besides  20  sail  of  transports  which  were 
sunk,  and  amongst  them  the  frigate  Guadeloupe. 


Actions  of  April  9th  and  12th. 

The  author  of  the  Vnifage  d'lin  Suisse  dans  diffrrenteit 
cohniesd' Amerique pendant  la  fArneVrcf/j/frre, Neuchatel,  1785, 
who  was  present  at  Pe  Grassc's  defeat,  thus  describes  it : 

"  Admiral  Rodney  every  day  .sends  out  some  frigates,  which 
come  to  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  to  observe  us. 

M.  de  Grasse's  fleet  takes  incessantly  all  the  troops  here 
except  2,000  men  who  remain  to  defend  the  island.  And  I 
who  have  obtained  permission  to  embark  on  board  a  man  of 
war,  may  hope  that  in  such  good  company  nothing  will  retard 
my  arrival  in  St.  Domingo. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  I  repair  to  my  new  post,  where  all  to 
my  eyes  seems  beautiful. 

The  French  fleet,  composed  of  .S4  ships,  has  already  divided 
up  all  the  supplies  brought  by  the  last  convoy  from  Europe : 
yet  it  still  wants  many  essential  things,  especially  powder  and 
extra  spars.  The  merchant  convoy,  bound  to  St.  Domingo, 
sets  sail  at  daybreak,  under  a  special  escort  of  two  50  gun  ships. 
The  fleet  commanded  by  M.  de  Grasse  then  hoists  sail,  and  by 
afternoon  we  were  all  at  sea.  The  convoy  sails  to  leeward  of 
the  fleet. 


APPENDIX. 


197 


On  the  9th  iit  dawn,  we  saw  the  English  and  made  out  49 
miil.  There  reigned  Huch  supreme  disorder  among  ua  at  the 
time  that  the  merchantmen  were  peUmell  with  the  men  of  war, 
and  we  were  afraid  that  tho  enemy  would  attack  us  in  this 
confusion.  All  however  was  disentangled  so  well  and  so 
speedily  that  our  line  of  battle  was  formed  perfectly  about  9, 
A.  M.,  while  the  convoy,  brought  close  together  fell  back  on 
Guadaloupc. 

This  change  of  scene  relieved  our  minds  and  kept  the 
English  in  check.  They,  however,  kept  the  weather-gage 
and  came  quite  near  us.  At  this  juncture,  a  calm  cut  off 
their  rear  with  half  the  centre  from  the  rest  of  their  fleet.  M. 
de  Gras.se  then  signalled  to  bear  down  and  wc  had  the  advan- 
tage of  cannonading  the  part  of  tlieir  fleet  that  could  not  be 
supported  by  the  rest.  This  engagement  lasted  three  hours 
and  was  indecisive,  but  it  gave  our  convoy  time  to  take  refuge 
at  Guadaloupc.  Admiral  itodney  by  the  help  of  a  light 
breeze  succeeded  in  bringing  his  fleet  together,  ran  before  the 
wind  and  insensibly  disappeared  from  our  eye,-*. 

This  action  took  place  near  the  Isle  des  Saintes  between 
Dominica  and  Guadaloupc.  M.  de  Grasse  preserved  the 
weather-gage,  but  did  not  pursue  the  English, contenting  him- 
self with  tacking  in  Dominica  channel,  and  detached  a  frigate 
with  orders,  as  we  supposed,  to  get  the  convoy  under  way  next 
night.  This  conjecture  seemed  to  us  the  more  probable,  as  it 
could  while  covered  by  us  reach  St.  Domingo  without  danger. 

On  the  morning  of  the  10th  the  English  again  hove  in  sight. 
They  seemed  to  have  a  regular  move  of  tide  by  day  and  ebb 
at  night,  and  we  kept  on  tacking  in  Dcmiinica  channel,  holding 
the  weather-gage. 

On  the  11th  it  was  the  same  on  the  English  side  and  ours. 
M.  de  Grasse's  object  in  the.se  manoeuvres,  which  brought  us 
up  to  the  same  spot,  seemed  to  be  to  hold  the  English  at  bay 
to  give  his  convoy  time  to  reach  St  Domingo.         *         *        * 

The  sea  in  the  gulf  enclosed  by  these  isles  (Dominica,  Gua- 
daloupc. Marie  (>alante.  Sainte)  is  ordinarily  calmer  than  that 
without  the  same  gulf,     I  saw  it  every  night  luminous  in  the 


II 


ill 


I  ii 


198 


APPENDIX. 


ship's  track ;  and  the  greatest  heat  that  I  observed  up  to  this 
time  was  22°,  the  least  10°. 

It  is  not  unconinion  on  this  sea  to  see  one  vessel  becalmed 
very  near  another  keeping  steadily  on.  This  difference  is 
always  produced  by  a  limited  puff  of  wind,  produced  by  some 
isolated  cloud.  These  little  currents  of  air  which  pierce  the 
calm,  and  which  mock  the  skill  of  commanders,  sometimes 
decide  the  gain  or  loss  of  a  battle.  On  the  last  occasion,  for 
instance,  when  the  English  were  separated  and  could  not  get 
together,  had  not  de  Qrasse  a  fine  chance,  the  whole  French 
fleet  having  a  wind?  He  had  apparently  good  reasons  for 
neglecting  so  considerable  an  advantage,  which  fortune  prof- 
fered  him. 

Although  the  action  of  the  9th  was  a  small  affair,  yet  it 
sufficed  to  give  me  some  idea  of  a  sea  fight.  Every  one  knows 
his  post  beforehand.  A  part  of  the  crew  remains  on  deck  to 
work  the  ship  and  the  rest  are  employed  in  the  butteries ;  the 
cabin  boys  are  engaged  in  furnishing  the  ammunition  fur  each 
piece,  and  they  fire  as  they  get  ready. 

To  say  that  perfect  order  then  reigns  in  the  vessel  would  be 
too  much.  The  noise  of  the  cannon,  the  cries  of  the  boys,  the 
gunners  and  the  smoke,  necessarily  create  some  confusion  in 
so  small  a  space;  yet  it  is  not  so  great  as  to  embarrass  any  one 
in  doing  his  duty  ;  it  is  ruther  a  general  hurrah  that  inflates 
the  courage  and  increases  the  powers  of  each. 

The  English  seem  to  fire  in  preference  ut  the  musts  and  we 
at  the  hull.  Their  method  has  the  advantage  over  ours  of 
disabling  the  vessels  they  engage  sooner.  Ours  is  more 
murderous,  dismounts  many  cannon,  and  sometimes  sinks  a 
vessel. 

The  true  reason  of  our  different  manner  of  aiming  is  per- 
haps that  the  timber  of  the  English  ships  are  Ic.'is  solid  than 
ours. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  if  the  projects  of  this  campaign  are 
realized,  the  French  will  have  more  than  one  chance  to  cope 
with  their  enemies  not  only  by  i^cu  but  by  land  also. 


APPENDIX. 


199 


Seven  thousand  regular  troops  collected  from  all  the  Wind- 
ward Isles,  distributed  in  the  vessels  of  the  fleet  and  the  convoy, 
are  going  to  join  4,000  more  French  and  10,000  Spanish 
troops  and  14  vessels  of  the  same  nation,  which  are  at  the 
capo.  The  most  general  opinion  is,  that  we  are  going  to 
besiege  Kingston  in  order  to  take  Jamaica  from  the  English. 
These  are  great  preparations;  beautiful  projects!  Shall  we 
see  them  fulfilled '( 

April  12th.  The  dawn  scarcely  oasts  some  light  over  the 
horizon,  when  we  beheld  our  foe  already  ranged  in  good  order; 
they  approach  us  majestically.  The  ZH6,  one  of  M.  de 
Grasso's  fleet,  much  injured  by  being  run  into,  asks  leave 
to  put  back,  obtains  it,  and  steers  for  Gundaloupe.'  The 
English  at  once  try  to  cut  her  off'.  M.  de  Grasse,  believing 
her  in  danger  wishes  to  save  her  and  signals  his  whole  fleet  to 
prepare  for  action  and  to  bear  down  on  the  eneniy.2  Our 
vessels  were  then  so  dispersed,  and  their  speed  so  various,  that 
only  nine  were  in  line,  including  the  flag  ship  about  7},  A. 
M.,  when  we  got  near  enough  to  engage. 

The  fire  was  very  lively  on  both  sides,  and  so  close  that  the 
grape  shot  alone  pierced  our  second  battery.  The  English 
three  deckers  complnisantly  presented  their  broadside  to  our 
smaller  vessels  so  as  to  crush  them  more  speedily. 

For  almost  three  hours  the  nine  French  vessels  bore  the 
brunt  of  the  whole  English  fleet,  when  the  Glorieux,  74, 
appeared  like  an  isolated  ponton  in  the  midst  of  the  field  of 
battle,  and  drifting  down  on  the  enemy's  line.  One  of  our 
frigates  went  to  take  her  in  tow,  hoping  to  bring  her  to  wind- 
ward, within  reach  of  help.  But  the  effort,  praiseworthy  as  it 
was,  was  unsuccessful,  and  the  officer  in  command  of  the 
Glorievc  himself  cut  the  tow-line  so  as  not  to  compromise  to 
no  purpose  one  of  our  best  frigates.  Then  hoisting  the  French 
flag  on  the  stump  of  the  main  mast,  he  was  seen  in  the  midst 


'  The  Caton  had  left  U8  the  day  previous  for  the  anme  reasoti. 
'  Many  sailors  are  of  opinion  that  the  Ziti  ran  no  risk. 


200 


APPENDIX. 


of  tho  KngliHli  with  thuutiiiotit  intrepidity  Hriiig  Ixitli  broadKidoH 
niid  ruccivin|r  thuiii  un  ull  HiduH. 

Hut  durill^  ull  the  tiiiiu  that  cliipHcd  t'roni  tho  coiuincnoe- 
inent  of  tho  uctioii,  what  wero  our  othor  vohmoIh  doing'  Thoy 
bore  down  in  HUcccMHion,  and  ah  each  got  in  reach  fired 
separately,  wo  that  each  had  ulwayw  Hoveral  cneniioH  on  lier. 
ThiM  inequality  HubHiHtcd  from  the  euuinionccnient  of  the 
action,  and  M.  de  (iraHHO  in  vain  hignalled  them  to  ral'^  ;  liis 
HignalH  wero  never  executed.  We  lost  the  advantage  of  the 
wind  about  the  middle  of  the  day  and  Home  of  our  vcHHeU  were 
obliged  to  bear  away.  UtherH  for  tiiu  Hame  reason  kept  ho  far 
to  windward,  that  their  prcHcnco  became  uhcIohh.  At  laHt  at 
8,  P.  M  ,  the  (iforiiujT  being  no  longer  Hupported  and  finding 
herHcIf  amid  the  Knglinh.  Htruek  after  withntanding  a  terrible 
fire.  Soon  after  the  Anfiiit,  llnlor,  an('  ('i»ar  underwent  tho 
same  fate.  There  now  remained  in  reach  of  the  Englinh  fleet 
only  the  Villf  ifr  J'miii  with  a  nniall  number  of  our  ships. 
The  IV/A-  i/r  J'lniH  in  spite  ol"  her  triple  fire  was  soon  sur- 
rounded and  juHtly  gave  us  the  geatent  alarm.  Night  was 
beginning  to  spread  his  sombre  veil  over  that  scene  of  horror 
and  carnage;  the  starry  heaven  secuicd  to  invite  all  nature  to 
re])ose;  but  our  infernal  mouths  still  kept  vomiting  fire  and 
death. 1  They  at  last  ceased  about  Tj,  1'.  M.,  and  each  one  in 
our  ship  conjectured,  without  daring  to  say  so,  that  the 
admiral  himself  had  surrendered. 

Till  then  we  had  kept  the  wind,  a  league  from  the  English, 
but  seeing  Hood's  division  in  pursuit  of  our  scattered  vessels, 
we  ran  before  tho  wind  and  the  darkness  favored  our  retreat. 

Had  Commodore  Hood  sooner  obtained  of  admiral  Rodney 
the  permission  he  solicited,  as  1  have  been  told,  ti)  execute 
this  mana'uvrk.,  in  the  di.>)order,  distress,  and  <-onsternation  we 


>  Tlio  repeated  comniotions  of  tlie  artillery  made  n  calm  succeed  the 
breeze  wliich  prevailed  during  the  early  part  of  tlic  day.  Over  a 
hundred  tliuuBaiid  dischurges  of  cannon  were  fired  in  this  action  on 
both  Bides,  without  including  the  fire  of  the  swivels. 


Al'l-hNDlX. 


201 


woro  all  ill,  it  Ih  to  Itu  itroHUiiittil  tliiit  ho  Wdiild  liiivo  iiiuii(i  no 
gnuit  rusiHtiiiicu  in  griipplinK  Huviiriil  of  our  HliipH;  wliili;  in  t'uet 
tliuy  hud  time  to  CHcapo,  Iiocuiiho  Iio  ht'^iin  tho  |iurHiiit  too  liitu. 

Hut  wu  can  Hiiy  tliat  wo  dirl  not  ti^ht  an  inntaiit  in  line. 
Wo  ^avc  ourHcivoM  iHolutud  to  thu  iiiiitod  Kn^liMli,  who  onisiuul 
our  dctachud  vuhhvIh  by  tlioir  HUiuirior  nunihor;  and  thiH 
niunncr  uf  detbatiiig  um  Houuicd  ho  ttuHy  that  hud  tliu  day  hiHtud 
a  t(!W  hiiiirH  inoru  not  oiii;  would  huvit  ohcuikmI.  A  torrililo 
luHHoii  tor  an  admiral  who  iicgloclH  unity  of  action,  on  which 
nil  HucccHH  dupundn.  Witli  a  Hli^lit  reflection  on  tho  manner 
in  which  the  enKii^rement  wuh  brought  on,  we  niUHt  admire 
tho  fortune  of  tho  KngliNh  atlmirul,  and  be  HurpriHod  that  he 
protited  so  little  by  it. 

About  9,  1'.  M,,  our  vohmoI  whn  oiitirely  HOparatod  from  tho 
roHt  of  the  Vronoh  fleet.  The  captain  commanding  tleoiim  it 
proper  to  alter  our  courne  to  the  H.  W.,  ho  an  not  to  fall  in  with 
tho  ononiy.  We  had  wcarcely  made  three  loaguoH  in  thiw 
direction,  when  a  vomhoI  huilod  um.  She  wuh  in  our  wake. 
Wo  recognized  one  of  our  Hoot  and  we  agreed  to  keoj)  company. 
Tho  linntockH  were  ko|)t  lighted  all  night  for  fear  of  Hur- 
prino;  and  each  ime  Htood  to  his  pont,  but  with  no  lightH 
outHido,  to  avoid  being  perceived. 

About  11,  1*.  M.,  we  had,  two  or  three  leagues  to  leeward, 
tho  tragi(!al  Hpectacic  :;f  «  'iissisl  on  lire.  Tlu-  explosion  of  the 
niaga/.ino  was  not  long  delayed,  then  the  burning  iiiuhh  disap- 
peared entirely.     It  wan  the  Cimir:' 

On  the  l.'Jth  wo  endeavored  to  repair  an  well  an  wo  could  do 
at  Hoa,  and  wo  needed  it  greatly;  for  after  the  fight  (mr  sails 
and  rigging  wore  in  ragn;  wo  had  not  a  ninglo  nhoot  to  the 
foremast.  AVo  had  over  eighty  balln  in  the  hull,  eight  under 
the  water  lino,  and  a  hundred  men  killed  or  wounded  of  our 
crew  of  five  hundred. 

*****  >!<♦  **** 

On  the  Dtli  of  3Iay,  good  day's  ."I'il    wind  astern.     In  the 


>  It  tuok  fire  in  tlie  lioltl  in  a  barrul  of  i-utufia  wliicli  a  drunken 
English  sailor  went  to  with  nn  open  liiiilorn. 

20 


202 


Al'PKNDIX. 


ahcriuM)!!  wti  Mt'o  u  iiiiin  of  wnr:  wo  iiiiulo  Hintitilx;  it  wub 
one  of  our  frif^atcfl  Hunt  out  trmn  (lio  fiipo  to  louk  fur  uhj 
iti*  iniHHioii  lioiiifr  riilHIIi'd  it  rcturiiH  witli  u«.  Th«  offitvr  in 
ooniniiiii(i  (I  itirnis  the  <'M|iturt!  nt'  M.  tie  (iriixHo,  which  wu  hud 
inen-iy  i4UH|K>('tiHi ;  anil  mforniM  Uf  tliut  th(>  Cofun  loul  Juiuiii, 
NhipH  of  tho  line,  uml  tho  friptti^H  Mmnhlf  and  the  littlit  Clrt» 
had  hcon  afterwards  taiccn  hy  IIt)od'i«  diviHion  in  t)u>  rhanixd 
of  Porto  llico. 


Itixlney')*  Account  of  the  Actions  of  April  *Mh  ai\d  VJh. 

FoiiMlDAHi.K.  at  Hca.  14th  April,  1782. 
Sir: — I  must  doHJro  you  will  ai-(|uuint  thoir  lordMhipM,  that 
iiotwitliHtunding  tht;  disposition  I  have  nntdo  of  his  .Majesty's 
fleet  under  my  eoniinand.  whieli  were  stationed  to  windward 
of  the  Freneli  islands  in  a  line  stretching;  from  the  latitud  ■  of 
Deseadtt  to  the  latitude  of  St.  Vincent's,  with  a  line  of  frij^ntes 
to  windward,  which  their  l(trdshij)s  may  perceive  by  the  dispo- 
oition  of  the  fleet  1  have  the  honimr  to  inclose,  and  which 
disposition  wu-  ihouf^ht  hy  every  officer  of  the  fleet  to  he  such 
08  to  rondei  it  impossible  for  any  convoy  hound  to  the  French 
Islandn  t  I  escaju .  yet  notwithstanding  the  vijrilance  of  every 
cuptain  and  officer,  the  enemy  fuund  means  to  escajie  by  making 
the  island  of  Deseadu,  and  creeping  close  under  (iiuidaloupo 
and  lJomini<|ue.  they  arrived  safe  in  the  bay  of  Fort  Hoyiil  on 
the  2Uth  and  21st  of  .March. 

Information  having  been  given  mo  of  this  unlucky  event,  I 
thought  it  to  be  my  duty  to  return  to  the  bay  of  (Jros  Inlet, 
St.  Lucia,  where  I  had  ordered  tho  store  ships,  victuallers, 
and  trade  bound  to  Jamaica  to  ronibzvous. 

On  my  arrival  in  that  bay  every  ui/ij  n.r'i  ]  fisHible  was  niado 
in  refitting  oi  ilie  fleet,  and  taking  i'  y:'<r.y  .  i.  ,  rtvisionHt  livu 
months  of  all  species  for  tho  whol  .  !  .  a  watchful  eye  being 
kept  the  whole  time  on  the  French  fleet  in  the  bay  of  Fort 
Uoyul,  as  I  knew  that  Counte  dc  (irasse  would  hasten  the  re- 


Al'I'KMMX. 


203 


fitting'  liJH  flcot,  ami  tiiki'  rhi*  i\rnt  uppiirturiity  of  pructfeHitig  to 
tho  pincf  of  hin  iloMttiiiitiori. 

Oil  thti  till  ,  of  April.  I  iiieulviid  itittlliKiinc*)  that  tho  eiiviny 
wuru  oiiiharkiiiK  thi'ii*  tinopH  on  himni  <ii'  tln-ir  i«hipM  of  wur; 
uiid  coiicIikUuI  tlioy  iiitcmli'tl  U>  viil  in  u  vi'iy  r»>w  liuyn. 

<'upt.  Hyroii  of  thii  Ani/rnmin/ir,  iiii  iKiti*(  briMk  ami 
diligont  ofliuur,  wutuhuil  tlu-ir  iiiolioiih  with  Nui^h  nttuiilioii, 
thut  uii  tho  Hth  iiiMtiitit,  iit  ihiyli^ht,  he  iiinilo  tho  Nigiiul  of  thi- 
oiu'iiiy'N  cdiniiiK  out,  ami  HtMiidiii^  to  \\w  nortliwcNt,  I  iiiHtaiitly 
uiuilt!  tho  ni^iial  to  weigh,  ami  having  lnoio'il  into  thi*  bays  of 
Fort  [loyul  ami  >St,  I'icrrii'N  wIku'o  no  uni'niy'H  Nhipn  nuiiuinoii 
I  luuiiu  tliu  signal  for  a  gttnorul  cIihho,  and  linforc  dayligli 
cauiu  up  with  the  enemy  littforo  Donn  ii(|ii<',  wluiri)  both  flcutn 
were  buculnied.  and  eontinued  ho  for  ni me  tinu>, 

Tho  oncniy  tirHt  got  tho  wind  and  lood  for  (iuadtiloupe; 
uiy  van  division  under  that  gallant  rtDi' er,  Itear  Admiral  Mir 
Samuel  Hood,  received  it  next  andNtood  ifier  iheni,  At  nine 
tho  enemy  began  to  eannonado  my  van.  whi<di  waH  returned 
with  tho  greatoHt  briskneHH. 

The  baffling  winds  under  |)ominii|ue  did  not  |iermit  part  of 
the  centre  division  to  get  into  acfion  wilii  the  eneniy's  rear 
till  half  past  eleven,  and  then  only  the  ship  next  to  me  in  the 
line  of  battle. 

Their  lordships  may  easily  imagine  the  nm  liiication  it  muHt 
have  been  to  the  sixteen  gallant  otiieers  eomn  Hiding  tho  shipH 
uf  tho  rear,  who  could  only  be  spectators  id' an  action  in  which 
it  wuH  not  in  their  power  tn  join,  being  detaiml  in  tho  calmo 
under  I>(miini(|uc. 

The  enemy's  cannonade  ceased  upon  mv  rear  iipproach.but 
not  before  they  had  done  considerable  daiinige  '  '  tlu;  ships  of 
the  van,  and  diHabletl  the  h'oi/n/  On/,'  and  the  Uonfni/u,  and 
his  Majesty  had  lost  a  gallant  oflicer.  viz;  ('apt,  'iiyne,  of  the 
Alfiiil,  and  a  number  of  otiieers  and  seamen  ;  but  itch  was  the 
steady  behavior  uf  Sir  Samuel  Hood  and  the  shi|i->  id' tho  van, 
that  the  enemy  received  more  damage  than  they  ofcasioned. 

The  night  of  the  ilth  the  riiet  lay  to  to  repair  the  ir  damages. 


li 


i 


204 


Al'I'ENIHX. 


The  10th  they  continued  to  turn  to  wiiitlwiird  under  easy  sail, 
the  eneuiys'  fleet  eoiitinuiufj;  to  do  the  same,  and  alwayw  hud 
It  in  their  power  to  couie  to  action,  which  they  cautiously 
avoided,  and  rendered  it  impossible  for  me  to  force  them,  in 
the  situation  they  were  in  between  tlie  Sainte  and  the  Ishmd 
of  I)omini(jue. 

On  the  11th  of  April,  tlie  enemy  having  {r.iined  considerably 
to  windward,  and  the  wind  blowing  a  fresh  and  steady  gale,  I 
made  the  signal  for  a  general  chase  to  windward,  which  con- 
tinued the  whole  day.  Towards  sunset  some  of  the  headmost 
ships  of  the  fleet  had  approached  near  to  one  of  the  enemy's 
ships  that  hud  received  damage  in  the  late  action,  and  had 
certainly  taken  her,  if  the  Counte  de  (irasse  had  not  borne 
down  with  his  whole  fleet  for  her  protection,  and  which 
brought  him  so  near,  that  I  flattered  myself  he  would  give  me 
an  opportunity  to  engage  him  next  day.  With  that  view  I 
threw  out  the  signal  for  the  form  of  sailing,  and  stood  with 
the  whole  fleet  to  the  southward  till  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing and  then  tacked,  and  had  the  happiness  at  daylight  to  find 
my  most  sanguine  desire  was  near  being  accomplished,  by  my 
having  it  in  my  power  to  force  the  enemy  to  battle.  Not  one 
moment  was  lost  in  putting  it  into  execution,  the  consequence 
has  been  such  as  I  have  the  honor  to  rojjrcsent  in  my  former 
letter  of  this  tlay;  andean  say  no  more  than  that  too  much 
praise  can  not  be  given  to  the  gallant  otliccrs  and  mon  of  tlic 
fleet  1  had  the  honor  to  command.  I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
with  great  regard,  Sir.  your  most  obedient  and 

most  humble  servant. 

G.    B.    RoD.NEY. 

N.  B  :  Lord  Cranston  and  ('apt.  IJyron  relate,  that  the 
Cfrmr.  one  of  the  captured  ships,  soon  after  she  was  taken 
po.ssession  of,  took  fire  by  accident  and  blew  up,  and  a  consider- 
able number  of  people  on  board  her  unfortunately  perished; 
and  that  Lord  Uobcrt  Manners,  died  in  his  passage  home  in 
the  Aitilriiiiuirhr. 


APPENDIX. 


205 


Formidable,  at  Sea.  April  14th,  1782. 

Sir : — It  has  pleased  (iod,  out  of  his  Divine  Providence,  to 
grant  to  his  majesty's  arms  a  complete  victory  over  the  fleet  of 
his  enemy  con»mandcd  by  the  Countc  de  Orasse,  who  is  himself 
captured  with  the  Vlllv  ih  Paris,  and  four  other  ships  of  the 
fleet,  besides  one  sunk  in  the  action.  This  important  victory 
was  obtained  the  12th  instant,  after  a  battle  which  lasted 
with  unremitting  fury  from  seven  in  the  morning  until 
half  past  six  in  the  evening,  when  the  setting  sun  put  an  end 
to  the  contest.  Both  fleets  have  greatly  sufiered,  but  it  is 
with  the  highest  satisfaction  I  can  assure  their  lordships  that 
though  the  masts,  sa'.ls,  and  riggings,  and  hulls  of  the  British 
are  damaged,  yet  the  loss  of  men  has  been  but  small  consider- 
ing the  length  of  the  battle  and  the  close  action  they  so  long 
sustained.  The  gallant  behavior  of  the  officers  and  men  of 
the  fleet  I  have  the  honour  to  command,  has  been  such  as 
must  forever  endear  them  to  all  lovers  of  their  king  and 
country. 

The  noble  behavior  of  my  second  in  command.  Sir  Samuel 
Hood,  who  in  both  actions  most  conspicuously  exerted  himself, 
demands  my  warmest  encomiums;  my  third  in  command,  Rear 
Admiral  Drake,  who  with  his  division  led  the  battle  on  the 
12th  instant,  deserve ^  the  highest  praise;  nor  less  can  be  given 
to  Commodore  Aflleck  for  his  gallant  behavior  in  leading  the 
centre  division.  My  own  captain,  Sir  Charles  Douglass,  merits 
everything  I  can  possibly  say ;  his  unremitted  diligence  and 
activity  greatly  ea.sed  me  in  the  unavoidable  fatigue  of  the  day. 

In  short  I  want  words  to  express  how  .sensible  I  am  of  the 
meritorious  conduct  of  all  the  captains,  officers  and  men.  who 
had  a  share  in  this  glorious  victory,  obtained  by  their  gallant 
exertions. 

The  enemy's  whole  army  consisting  of  5,500  men  were  o:i 
board  their  ships  of  war ;  the  destruction  among  them  must  be 
prodigious,  as  for  the  greatest  part  of  the  action  every  gun 
told,  and  their  Lordships  may  judge  what  havock  must  have 
been  made,  when  the  Formtduhlc  fired  near  eight  broadsides. 


206 


APPENDIX. 


Enclosed  I  have  the  honor  to  send  for  their  inspection  the 
British  and  French  linesof  battle  with  an  account  of  the  killed 
and  wounded,  and  damages  sustained  by  his  Majesty's  fleet. 

Lord  Cranston  who  acted  as  one  of  the  Captains  of  the  Formid- 
able during  the  action,  and  to  whoso  gallant  behavior  I  am 
much  indebted,  will  have  the  honor  of  delivering  these  dis- 
patches :  to  him  I  must  refer  their  lordships  for  every  minute 
particular  they  may  wish  to  know,  he  being  perfectly  master 
of  the  whole  tran.'saction. 

That  the  British  flag  may  forever  flourish  in  every  quarter 
of  the  globe,  is  the  most  ardent  wish  of  him  who  has  the  honor 
of  being  with  great  regard. 

Sir, 
Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 
', .   B.   UOUNEY. 

PlIIMl'   StEVKNS.  Esq.' 


r-    \ 


INDEX. 


Aberorombie,  48  n. 

Aoikdia,  51  n. 

Accaron,  Antoinette  Rnsnlie,  wife 

of  tlie  Cuunt  de  Urasse,  22. 
Accaron,  Jean  Augiigtin,  22. 
Adcmvnl,  Cap!.,  IIU. 
Affleck,  Commodore,  109,  205. 
AizlaCbapclle,  32  n. 
Albert  dc  Kions,  d',  20,  50  n,  44  n. ; 

blockades   Tobago,   47,    144; 

commandHtbo  Pluto,  111,  100. 
Albert,  St.  Hippolyte  d',  42,  4;!  n,  ; 

escorta  convoy  to  Europe,  86, 

104. 
Alby,  128n. 

Almon'8  Rememhrancer,  46  n. 
Amblimont,  Fusclicmbourg,  Count 

d',  102,  118,  170. 
America   and  the  Americans  de- 
scribed by  dc  Qousaencourt,  88. 
Amiierst,  Lord,  44  n. 
Amocnoburg,  31  n. 
Ampliousse,  Widow,  108, 
Amsterdam,  Journal  printed  at,  10, 
Anguilln,  taken  by  do  Itouillu,  08. 
Andrews,  History  of  the  War,  38  n, 

46  n. 
Anspach  Troops,  80. 
Antigua,  100,  170. 
AniillcH,  5(5. 
Anvilie,  Uuke  d'  32  n. 
Arbutliuot,  .\dm.,  29  n,  08  n.,  138n. 
Arnold,  Uenedict,  188  n. 
AroB  d'  Argcloi<.   ('apt..  Baron  d', 

0,  20,  112,  128. 
Auxcrrc,  48  n. 
Azores,  132. 

Bahama  Channel,  03. 
Balfour,  Capt.,  lOO. 
Baltimore,  105,78,  70. 
Baracao,  (12. 
Barbadoes,  64,  06,  100. 
Barber,  Ciipl.,  100. 
Barclay,  Capt.,  110. 
Barodney,  (^apt.,  110. 


Barras,  St.  Laurent,  Louis,  Count 

du,  74,  75,  77  ;  sketch  of,  67 ; 

joins   de  Grasse   reluctantly, 

167;  list  of  his  squadron,  84; 

at   Fort  Uoyal,    95;     at    St. 

Cliristopcr's   ib, ;    in   action, 

98 ;     takes    Monserrat,    106, 

173. 
Barrington,  Adm.,  engages   d'Es- 

taing,  10,  188. 
Basse,  Torre,  95,  104,  106,  172. 
Bath,  46  n. 
Battle  of  April   9,  114,  174,  197; 

plan,  117. 
Battle  of  April  12,  113,  120,  177; 

plan  of,  117. 
Battle  between  Arethusa  and  Belle 

Poule,  5. 
Battle  between  the  Engageante  and 

Rose,  10. 
Battle  off  Cape  Henry,  158. 
Battle  of  the  Chesapeake,  09-74, 

164,  188-196. 
Battle  of  La  Praya  Bay,  33  n. 
Battle  of  Martinique,  44,  141, 189, 

193. 
Battle  of  St.  Christopher?   97,  99, 

107,  109. 
Battle  of  Ushant,  15,  20,28,  101  «. 
Bay  des  Trepasgea,  133. 
Bayne  Capt.,  109,  116. 
Bee  du  Uax,  133. 
Behring's  straits,  129  n. 
Bellisle.  32  n. 
Bermuda,  10,  132. 
Bernadotte,  33  n. 
Biographic  Brctonne,  43  n.;  Uni- 

versello,  44  n. 
Riron,  Dukedc,  aids  Rodney,  29 n. 
Blair,  Capt.,  109. 
Blanchelande,  Philibert  H.  R.  dc, 

sketch  of,  144  n. ;  at  Tobago, 

47/1.,  146,  190.  191. 
Bois  de  la  Mothe,  28  n.,  32  n. 
Bonitc,  89. 
Boscawcn,  Admiral,  28  n. 


208 


INDEX. 


Boslon,  :!2«.,  44h.,  101  ». 

Hoiibei',  M.  lie,  IiIk  success,  (12, 147  ; 
IcIcmI  al  Cnpe  Kriviiriiis,  ib. 

liougiiiiivillc,  Louis  Antdiiio. Count 
lie,  2ti ;  skcti'li  of  4;!  II.  ;  ilis- 
])ule  lit  St.  I'iorre,  4(1;  coiii- 
iiiiinds  in  l)iiltlu  of  tliu  ('liosa- 
l)i-nkt;.  Ht4;  in  liio  Auguslo, 
11!5:     rcliri'slo  Ciirmjoa,   120 

Dnuillc,  Finncis  Cliiude  Amour, 
Mnnniis  de.  ."JH :  skctcli  of, 
;W  II.  :  attacks  St.  I.iicia.  40, 
4H,  14.!,  145,  I'Jd;  takes  To- 
bago, 4it,  148,  14"),  IHO;  at 
(iitinada,  ■'i2  ;  takes  St.  I')usta- 
lia.  01  :  St.  Cliristopiiers,  lll2, 
It);! :  entertainments  given  by, 
lOti. 

Hot  any  liay,  129. 

Itowen,  t'ajit.,  110. 

Itreen's  St.  Lucia,  IS;/. 

Urest.  1,">.  20.  lil,  !!:!  »..  ;')(»  «..  jV), 
<12.  120.  in;!.   It!.-),  170,  180. 

IJrevoorl,  J.  0  ,  has  de  Goiis8cn< 
court's  journal,  0. 

Brimstone  Hill,  siegeof.  00,  Kill-,-*, 
100,  171. 

Uriiiucville,  ('apt  ,  2t(. 

Urun  de  Uoade,  C'a])tain  of  the  Ue- 
flLclii.  killed,  70,  10."). 

Ilrunswick,  Duke  of,  ;iO«. 

Ituckner,  ("apt.,  100. 

Iturgoyne,  (ien  ,  surrender  of,  Itld, 
100. 

Uurnet,  ('apt..  110, 

liyiig.  Admiral,  ;!2«. 

liyroii,  action  witli  tl'Eslaing,  17, 
;•;!».,  101  ».  ;  commands  the 
Andromache,  114,  202,  2lt;!. 

Caldwell,  Capt.,  llt». 
Campbell,  Col.,  oti  ii. 
Camion,  Cnpt.,  1  It). 
Cape  lireion,  ;I2«.,  Al  h. 
Cajie  Finislerre.  ;il. 
Cape  Charles,  7;i, 
Cape  Henry,  74,  70,  88,   l.-)8.  104. 
Cape  of  (iocid  Hope,  '•]'■>  n. 
Ciipe  l'asi<,  •-)-). 

Cap  Krani^ois,  ni,  iil't,  ()2,  85:  de- 
scription of,  57. 
Captal  de  Itucli.  10. 
Cureiiage  Hay,  48  n. 
Caribs,  .')2. 
Carpenter's  Rocks,  57. 


Caslellane    .Majastrc,  Captain  do 

20,  111. 
Casielnaiulry,  101  ;i. 
Ciistries,  Cha-lcs  Kugenc  (Inbriel 

de  la  Croi.x, Marshal  do,  .Minis- 
ter of  the  navy,  sketch  of,  ;iOn. 
Ciuibori,   .lolin  Hernard,    .Mari|uis 

de,  20,  51:    sketch  of,  5I«. ; 

saves  theDiadcme,  72. 
Chandos,  Duke  of,  28  n. 
Charite,  ('apt.  de,  20,  111  ;     offers 

10  mortgage  his  plantations  to 

enable  de  Urasse  to  gu  to  tho 

Chesapeake,  lol. 
Charleston,  t)4. 
Charrington,  ('apt  ,  100. 
Clias  et  Lcbrun,  llinltiire  ile  la  He- 

voliitiiiii,  28. 
('Iiflstcllux,  (Jhevalier,  dii,  70  h. 
Cherbourg,  50. 
Chesapeake,    0;i,    t!5,    7;',  74,  lia, 

148,  140,  Kil. 
Cliitleau,    Marquis  du,    145,   14(i, 

100,  101. 
Choisy,   .M.   de,  reinforced  by  de 

(irasse's  murines,  77.  105. 
Cibon,  Christine    .Marie    Delphinc 

de.  2;j. 
("ice,  ('hampiou  de,  4;i. 
Cicc  .Mgr.  de,  Uishup  of  .Auxcrrc, 

»;{ «. 

Cice,  Monseigneurde,  .Archbishop 

of  lloi'ileaux,  4;!  n. 
Clavel.  ("apt.  de,  20,  ll;l. 
Clinton,  Sir  Henry,  00  n,  81,  8ti  n, 

l.)0. 
Closlevcamp,  'Mn. 
(."ocklinrne,    Lt    Col.  .lames,  (iov. 

of  St.  Kiistalia.  0:J. 
Colundjus.  52/(. 
Complon,  Lady  .lane,  20//. 
Conile,  I'rince  de,  5l(.        -■ 
Congrc\>is.  It  esc  d  lit  ions  compliment- 
ing de  (Jras.se.  100. 
Conway,  (ien.,  178. 
♦Jordova,  Don  Luis  de,  ;f;i  n. 
Cornwallis,    Capt.    William,    110, 

11;!. 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  (Hi,  7('p,  77,  78-8;i, 

140,  150,    15:!,    UiO,    101.  1H8, 

105. 
Corsica,  ;{0  n.,  45  n. 
('ourcy,  Henry  de,  0. 
Courland  Day,  145,  101. 
Cranston,  Capt.  Lord,  204,  200. 


INDEX 


209 


Creoles,  cliarnclcr  of,  130. 
Crosby.  Cnpt.,  110. 
Crossing  the  Line,  3(1. 
Cudiliilorc,  33  n. 
Cnva<;oa,  l:iO,  VZi'i. 
Ciistine,  Adnin  I'liilip,  Count  de, 
75. 

Diilnin,  Citpt.,  2ti. 

Divlins,    Capt.,  2ti;     insuhonlina- 

tion  of,  T)!,;  appointed  to  the 

Neptune,  8(i,  113 
Danien,  ViHcount  de.  I'Jl. 
Danioy,  <'ount  de,  101. 
Daross,  0. 

Dead  Chest  Island.  f)5. 
Deseada,  202. 
Despinouse,  Cnpt.,  112. 
Dcstouclic.i.    Chcviilier,    engages 

Graves,  17,  «4,  138  h. 
Decars,  2(i. 
Dety,  Capt.,  2(i,  112. 
Dettingen,  30. 
Diamond  Uock,  42,  141. 
Di^hy,  Admiral.  140,  105. 
Dillon,  Count,  101. 
Dillon,  Capt.,  120  w. 
Dolphin,  30. 
Domaines,  47. 
Dominica,  52,  121. 
Dominiijue,  202,  204. 
Dougla.s,  Capt.  Charles,  204. 
Drake,  Rear  .Vdni.  Sr  Francis,  40, 

71,  105,  205. 
Drake,  Capt.  Samuel,  100. 
Drnytoii,  Mrs  ,  24. 
Dufc  dOrvHult.  105. 
Duniaresq,  Captain,  110. 
Duportail,  (Jen.,  7<!  n. 
Dussieux.   I,e  Vanaila  noim  In  Po- 

miiKiliiiH  Fniui;aist<,  44  ii. 

Elk  River.  105. 

Elphinstone  captures  La  Touchc 
Troville,  27. 

Escars,  liaron  d',  conininnils  Glo- 
rieux.  2(i.  0(1,  112;  killed,  122. 

Espinoussc,  Capt.  d",  2t'>. 

Estning,  Charles  Henry,  Count  d', 
15,  ('«3,  (17  «.  ;  outline  of  Ills 
campiiign,  15-17;  captures  a 
vessel  iitt' Bermuda,  Hi;  fails 
to  hlockiide  Howe.  il).  ;  batlled 
at  Sandy  Hook,  ib. ;  operations 
inRhddc  Island,  K!  ».,  ■Vlu.\ 
lets  Hotham  slip,   Kwi.;    en- 


gages Harrington,  ib.  ;  re- 
pulsed at  St.  Lucia,  ib. ;  joined 
by  Vaudreuil,  101  u.\  reduces 
St.  .Martin,  1(1;  Granada,  17  n, 
32  n.  ;  engages  Ryron,  ib, ; 
repulsed  at  Savannah,  17  n, 
101  II. :  at  Cadiz,  27,  20;  sa- 
tirical allusion  to.  181. 
Exchanges,  none  in  America,  55. 

Falkland  Isles,  44  /(. 

Fanshaw,  Capt.,  100. 

Ferguson,     Major,   capitulates    at 
Tobago,  102. 

F'landcrs,  31  n.- 

Flochin,  de,  100. 

Flyingtish,  40. 

Fort  ISourbon,  10(1. 

Fort  Nelson,  120  n. 

Fort  Prince  of  Wales,  120  n. 

Fort  Royal,  17,  43,  44«.,  40,  47. 
48  n.,  51,  63,  54;  de  Grasse 
at,  4fi,  51,  54,  01,  04,  10(1 
141,  14(1,  104,  105,  173,  180; 
inundated  by  waterspout,  54  ; 
Entertainments  at,  54,  100; 
Fleet  at,  202. 

Fort  York,  120  n. 

Fournier  de  Uellovile.  Lieut.,  kill- 
ed, 100. 

Fox,  Coninmdore,  28  ii. 

Franiont   de.    43,    111;  captured, 
120, 

Franklin,  43  //. 

Frazer,  Sir  Thonuis,  00. 

Froissart  10. 

Galeres,  40. 
Galvez,  Senor,  120. 
Gardner,  Capt.  Alan,  100 
Germain,  Lord  Geo.,  150. 
(Itnclle  (1c  France,  Extract    from, 

IW). 
(Iihifnlnijic  lie  III  iiiiiixoH   ilc  (Jianse, 

24. 
Genoa,  182. 
(ieorge  II.  28  ti. 
George  III.  85. 
Gibriiltnr,  20 »,  34. 
(iidoin,  Capt.,  1(10. 
Gliindcvcse  Comnmnder  <le,  20,  55, 

00,  li;i,  142. 
Gloucester,  70, 82  ;  blockaded,  105, 

100;  surren<ler  of,  78. 
Goinipy,   Count   du  Maitz  de,   50, 

112. 


! 


210 


INDEX. 


Uuodall,  Gapt.,  110. 

Qordon,  l()Un. 

OouBHcncouri,  Chovalier  do,  inef- 
fectual attempt  to  identify,  '.I; 
hoHt  ilo  to  Count  de  GraHse,  ib. ; 
bis  Journal,  25;  his  descrip- 
tion of  tlie  Ainerionns,  87. 

Uouxillon,  Captain  de,  Hit. 

Urafgo,  Alexandre  Fran;  Aug, 
Count  de,  23. 

Oraggo,  Aindlie  U,  M.  de,  23. 

(iraHse,  Adelaide,  23. 

(jra880,  Francois  do  Grng»o  Ilou- 
villc.    Marquis  de.  It). 

Qrasso,  Francis  Joseph  Paul  de 
Urasse-Kouville,  ('ount  de, 
biograpliical  nkctcli  of,  lU; 
Captain  of  tbe  Kobusle,  20; 
at  tbe  battle  of  Uxbant,  20; 
Commodore,  ib.  ;  joins  d'Es- 
taing,  ib. ;  appointed  to  com- 
mand of  fleet,  27,  138;  leaves 
Paris,  13it ;  leaves  Krest,  30, 
13U;  writes  to  Rocbambeau, 
34  n  ;  at  Martinique,  41,  140, 
180;  engages  Hood,  42,  140, 
18'J ;  returns  to  Martiniqo,  4i), 
143,  I'.IO;  sails  to  St.  Lucia 
with  do  Uouill6,  4t),  U.").  IWt; 
clieckedand  retires,  48, 145:  at 
Tobugo,  50,  145  ;  at  Granada, 
52,  14(1;  at  .Si.  Vincent,  62;  at 
Martinique,  54,  14t>;  receives 
dispntcbi's  from  U.S.,  148; 
diiticulties,  141) ;  sails  to  (Mic- 
»>apcake,  112,  152  :  takes  Lord 
Uawdon,  73;  at  l-yun  Haven 
Hiiy.  115;  engages  (i raves,  110- 
74,  1.54-7  ;  lands  marines,  77. 
158;  Hcnds  de  Hurras  to  act 
in  bis  place  at  tbe  capitulation 
of  Yorktown,  78,  84;  defers 
to  Washington's  re(|uest.  85, 
8<1  n,  1(12;  sails  luick  to  West 
Indies,  88.<J0;  lokt  St.  Cbris- 
topbcrs,  0(1,  1(1(1 ;  figbts  Hood, 
07,  1(17  ;  allows  liini  to  escape, 
103,  lt)8;  defence  of,  180; 
bis  fleet.  111  ;  takes  Monscr- 
rat,  1(13,  173;  festivities,  10(1; 
engages  Uodney,  114,  174; 
defeated  nnd  taken,  113,  120, 
177 ;  correspondence  witb 
Washington,  187-8 ;  resolu- 
tions of  ('ongress,  KIO. 


Grasse,  Chevalier,  Joseph  de,  at 
Louisbourg,  20. 

Grasse,  Maxime  de,  23. 

Grasso  Melanie  V.  M.  de,  23. 

Grasse,  Sylvie  do,  daughter  of 
Count  de  Grasse,  marries  M. 
Francis  do  Piiu,  28. 

Graves,  Admiral,  71  «.,  151  ti.  ; 
sketch  of,  (10;  defeated  by  du 
Grasse,  GO,  155,  104 ;  bis  ao- 
Roun  toft  be  action,  72  n.,  73  n.; 
Ward's  opinion,  70  v.  ;  bis 
loss,  73  n. ;  de  Goussencourt'a 
opinion,  73  ;  action  with  Ucs- 
toucbes,  138. 

Greenwich  Hospital,  20,  45  n. 

Grenada,  51,  54;  reduced  by  d' 
Estuing,  17,  32  n;  by  Uodnoy, 
27  n.  ;  Account  of,  52  ;  do 
Grasse  at,  144,  140. 

Grcnadina,  54. 

Gros  Islet  Bay,  47.  143,  145,  UK). 

Guadaloupe,  1(5,  107. 

(Jufirin,  llmloire  Marilimt,  21,  70  H. 

Guichen  Luc  Urbain  do  Uouexie, 
Count  de,  sketch  of,  28  «. ;  suc- 
ceeds d'Estaing,  17;  engages 
Rodney,  17,  2(t,  20  n.,  I(»l  n. ; 
his  fleet  joins  d'Estaing  at  ('a- 
diz,  20;  loses  his  convoy,  102. 

Hainaut,  31. 

Hanover,  28  n. 

Havana  57. 

Havre,  20 n. 

Hawkc,  Admiral,  28  n.,  32  n.,  101 ». 

Ilennoquin,  34 n. 

ilessiiin  troops,  80. 

Heroism  of  a  French  sailor,  35. 

Hit-i-cs,  182. 

Historical  Magazine,  50 n. 

Hood,  Samuel  Viscount,  44,  71  »., 
151  H.;  sketch  of,  44  n.  ;  en- 
cnpngesdeGrasseatSt.  ('bris- 
tophcrs,  07.  1(17  ;  escapes,  104, 
K  8;  in  the  IJiirfliur,  1(10;  in 
the  buttle  of  the  (^hesapt-uke, 
155  ;  outwits  de  Gnisse,  (18  n., 
00,  1(17  ;  at  deGrasse's  defeat, 
200. 

Horseshoe,  8(ln.,  150,  105. 

Hotbam  evades  d'Estaing,  1(1. 

Houdon,  33  n. 

Howe,  Admiral,  16. 

Hudson's  Day,  101  n. 

Hughes,  Admiral,  33  n. 


INDEX. 


211 


Iborvillo,  101  ii. 
Inglefield,  Ciipt.,  10«. 
Inglis,  Cnpl.,  110. 
Irish  Urigado,  02  n. 
Islo  a  VaoUo,  148. 
lale  de  Oruas,  132. 
Ulo  aux  Noiz,  44  n. 
IhIo  des  Saiutos,  107. 

Jamaica,  56,  101  n.,  177,  178. 

James  11,  U'i  n. 

James  rivor,  74,  193,  106. 

Jaxton,  Cnpt.,  109. 

Jesuits,  67. 

Johnston,  Commodore,  133  n. 

Kempenfeld,  Adm.,  28  n.,  101  n. 
Keppel,  Adm.,  16,  179. 
Knedgett,  Capt.,  110. 
Knox,  Uen.,  76  n. 

La  Clocheterie,   Cliaudeau  do,  16, 
84;  lights  first  battle  of  the 
war,    113  n.;  in   de  Ternay's 
fleet,  113n. ;    commands   the 
llercule,  113;  killed,  ib. 
Lafayette,  Marquis  do,  10,  04,  GO, 
75,  70,  151  n.,  163,  189,  193. 
La  Galissouiere,  Marquis  do,  32  n. 
Lagus,  82  n. 
LaCirandiui'o,  Charles  Marie  Count 

de,  81,  111. 
La  Grange,  65. 
LaJiiillc,  128  n. 
Lake  George,  43  n. 
Langura,   Juan   do,    defeated    by 

Uudiiey,  29  n. 
Liiiiglc,  M.  de,  128n. 
La  I'crousc,  Jean  Frantjois  Gulaup 
de,  Skvichuf,  128  ». ;  tiikesan 
Knglish  vessel,  27 ;  cunimauds 
uxpi'dilion   sunt   to  Hudson's 
15ay,  101  «.,  128. 
La  I'raya  IJay,  33  n. 
La  Tuuohe   Trevillo,    Louis   Uen6 

de,  sketch  of,  27. 
LaVicomte,   Capt.,    112;    killed, 

123. 
La  Villeon,  dc,  195. 
Le  Ucgue,  9,  20,  111. 
Leeward  Islands,  29  n. 
I'Estenduero,  M.  de,  101 «. 
Le  Moyne  de  Serigny,  lOl  n. 
Letcndeur,  M.  de,  28  n. 
Leviirot,  Count  de,  191. 


Lemonade,  67. 

Lincoln,  General,  17. 

Liusee,  Capt.,  110. 

List  of  do  Grasse's  fleet,  20. 

Lloyd's  neck,  attack  on,  08  «. 

London,  38  n.,  43  n. 

Lombard,  M.  de,  84. 

Louis,  XVI,  38,  50 n. 

Louijbourg,  20,  28  n. 

Lutzelburg,  30. 

Lynn  Haven,  C6,  193,  105. 

Macarly,  Capt.  Macteiguede,  111. 

McLauren,  Capt.  John,  94  «, 

Madeira,  32. 

Maestricht,  Siege  of,  30  n. 

Malta,  32  n. 

Man-of-war's  bay,  146,  191. 

Manchineel,  63. 

Manners,  Lord  Robert,  110. 

Marie  Galante,  120,  197. 

Marigny,    Vi-.count  Charles,  43  n. 

Marigny,  Viscount,  20,  43  n.,  84, 

112;  killed,  123. 
Marmclade,  67. 
Martelly,  Capt.,  50,  113  ;  saves  his 

vessel,  124. 
Martinique,  38,  47,  106,  171,  173; 
reduced  by  llodney,  29  n. ;  do 
Orasseot,  41,  42,  40,  89,106; 
account  of  ladies  of,  107  ;  ves- 
sels at,  138 ;  action  at,  42, 140, 
107,  101  n.,  144,  150. 
Matnnzas,  <>3. 
Mathews,  Admiral,  28  n. 
Mattapuny,  163. 
Mudine,  Cupt.,  111. 
Mctz,  76. 
Middlebank,  195. 
Middleground,  88,  196. 
Miihon  de  I'enouilly,  M.  de,   100, 

112. 
Mogane  Channel,  131. 
Mole  St.  Nicholas,  CI. 
Molly,  Capt.,  110. 
Monckton,  Gen.,  29 n. 
Monpcron,  Capt.  de,  112. 
MouHcrrat  taken   by   de  Orasso, 

08  n.,  106,  107, 173. 
Montcalm,  43  n. 
Montcclerc,  de,  9,  20,  112,  127. 
Montcil,   Adhemar,    Marquis   de, 
66,   97,  98  n. ;  at   I'ensacola, 
147 ;  misconduct,  97. 


212 


INUKX. 


Monloil.  LI.  Col.  V.  tlo,  55. 
Montluc.  Ciipl.,  Jtt. 
Movno  ('oiiciinlc,  I'.M),  1!»1. 
Mciinc  Kurluiu',  4H.  l-iil,  \U,  I'.X), 

Moniv  (l(>  Vaiicliii,  41,  111. 
Moriicx,  41  II. 

Nancy,  HH. 

Nnpuloiiii,  '2H  II,,  44  H, 

Ncgnpiilnni,  :!')». 

Ni'uro  L'liiiNHPiirs,  1!M. 

Nelsiiii,  .'Vil  III  it'll,  27  n, 

NuInoii,  Ooveriior,  15:1  n. 

Novin.  surrpiulci'!*,  tlH  ii,  '.tti,  ((",  'M, 

1(»;i,  1(17.  1(18,  171. 
Ncwfouiullikiul,    2!)n.,  oin.,  i'lHii, 

V.V>. 
Newport,  K!,  'VJt  n. 
New  Voik,  L'ltH.,  81. 
yolice  liiiii/riiphii/iii-    tiiir  V  Aiiiiral 

I'omir  lie  Oriisiie,  24. 
Norlhninploii,  Knil  of,  'JMn. 

O'Calliiglinn,   Coloiiinl  Ihicitmentu, 

44  H. 
(('Conor,  Ciipl.,  'XI. 
OrveH,  Count  d',  !!;!«. 
Orvillicrff,  Count  d",  15. 
Oiifssani,    Untile   of,    15,  20,  28, 

11)1  n. 

I'aniiinky  rivor,  15;l. 

I'uris,  .'!8  «,,  51  ii. 

Pliny,  Ciipt.,   It.'.t. 

I'lirker,  .\iliiiiriil,  17W. 

I'liii.  KrnnciH  tie,  2:!. 

I'nii,  I.oiUH  \.  lie,  2.!. 

I'avillon,  .lolin  Kriiiii;ol8  <lit  (?|iey- 

riiM  (III,  12(1,  125. 
Penny,  Cnpi.,  IK'.i. 
Pennftcnlii,  Sicjje  of,  55,  5(1  w.,  147. 
Pt-rigny,  Lieut,  de,  woiiiKicd,  \W. 
Philadclpliiit,  14H. 
Pien.  Caihiiricn,  wil'eof  Aniiralde 

Grasse.  22. 
Pierrefeii,  .M.  de,  5(1. 
Pigeon  iHland,  bntlcry  on,  48. 
Pilot  fish,  ii'.t. 

Plexsis,  Pascaull,  du,  (14,  lltlJ. 
Point  ."^alines,  45 ;i.,  14(1. 
Port    ail    Prince,    reduceil    by  Lu 

Toiielie,  27;  eHrilii|uake,  58. 
Point  .St.  .Viiiie,  I4(i. 
Porlail.  .M.  du,  154. 


Porto  Kico,  55. 
Porto  Cabello,  1(»I  n. 
PorlHiiioiitli,  178. 
I'reMOott,  Oeiil.,  1(H). 
Picville,  ('apt.  de,  2(1,  li;t,  120. 
I'roveiliun,  Il.'i  ii. 
Provence,  ;!2  ».,  WWii. 
Quebec,  44/1. 

Itappnhaiinoek,  15U. 
Uiiwddii,  Lord,  7,'t 
IteiliielaM,  Capl.,  110, 
I  lleginieiilK.  Kruiicli  i 
I       .'VgenoiH,  (11,  100. 
.Vrniagnac,  101. 
.VuxorroiM,  47,  O.t,  101. 
Chani|iagne,  47. 
Dillon,  47,  50.  02,  101. 
O.itinoiN,  (11,  85. 
Ilainaull,  102. 
Irish  brigade,  02  n, 
Lanziin'.v  Legion,  (11,  105. 
Marllnii|ue,  47. 
Royal  .\iivergno,  (11,  (l;!,  85. 
Koyal  Conitoix,  102. 
>Saintongv,  75. 
Touraiiie,  (il,  100. 
Viennois.  47,  101. 
WalHh,  02,  102. 
Kenne!*,  4;Im. 
Ucynold."*.  Cipt.,  110. 
llhaal,  Swedish  officer,  105. 
llhidon,  07. 
Uhinberg,  :!()». 
Kobin,  .Uibc,  ."il  II. 
Uoaiioke,  55. 

Itoehainbcaii.  ('ouiil  tie.  (17  w  ,  7(1, 
85,  lo;!;  reiiil'oreeiiienls  for, 
;!4  II :  letter  ofdetiniHselo,  ib.; 
at  Yorklown,  7H,  84,  154;  Ke- 
siduiions  of  Congre.ss,  conipli- 
ineiitiiig.  1(10. 
Uochelorl.  27  ii. 

Ilodipiird,  I'rince  of  .\ntiben.  10. 
Uodiiey.  tienrge  Hridges.  Lord,  05, 
71  ",  151  /(  ;  okeldi  of,  28h  ; 
early  servieoM,  ib  ;  engage  de 
(iiiii-heii.  17,  20,  2H,  55:  al- 
Icnipts  10  reeiiverSt.  Vincent, 
20  H.  ;  seizes  St.  Kiistaliii.  20, 
45;  atlenipls  to  save  Tobago, 
50;  list  of  his  Heel,  100; 
watches  ile  firasse,  10(1;  do- 
feats  him.  li;i,  120,  177  ;  his 
account  of  action,  202. 


INUKX. 


213 


Kodnoy,  Henry,  28 n. 

RoHlmck,  !)l)n. 

ItoHtiiin};,  Mnjoi' tic,  128/1. 

UuiisHook,  I  <'>;(, 

lluylur,  Adiiiii-iil  du,  17U/i. 

Sadras,  liil «. 

8iiiiilc,  204. 

Siindy  Hook,  Hi, 

Sftndy  I'oiiil,  Kl'.t. 

Suuiniiro/.,  (.'apt.,  110. 

Savaffo,  Capl.,  llii. 

Savannah,  Siege  of,    17,  20,  ;!;!»., 

04,  101/1.,  18;l. 
Scarlioroiigli  taken,  I'.ll. 
Scnegiil,  101  //, 
Shark,  41. 
Shi|)«,  (.American) : 

Queen  ('hnrlolte,  "(in. 
(Kngli^h) : 

Agaiiiuninon,  110. 

Ajax,  7;t;/.,  10'.). 

Alcidu,    110;    caii(uros  Hector, 

i2;i. 

Allied,  100,  11.5,  20n. 

America,  100. 

Andromache,  114,  104,  20;!. 

Anson,  100. 

Antelope,  44  h. 

Aretiiii.xa,  15. 

Ariel,  128  H. 

Arroftaiit,  100. 

UarHeur,  100,  12:5. 

Hedlbrd.  100. 

](ellii|uc(i\,  1 10. 

Itonella,  HI. 

Canada,  110,  12.'i. 

Centaur,  4r.w.,  100,  142. 

Cliarlotie,  187. 

Charlcitown,  128 /i. 

Charon,  burnt,  ()7.  77. 

Conqueror,   100. 

Dul)liii,  28/1. 

Uuke.  ()0/(.,  1(,0,  125. 

Eagle,  28  H. 

Edgar,  71  >i. 

Fame,  100. 

Formidable,  100,  20(1. 

Forluiicc,  72  ji. 

(iibraltar,  45/(. 

Uuadaloupe  taken,  100. 

Hootor,  27. 

IFercules,  100. 

Intrepid,  4.')n.,  7.'5h.  ;   110,  142. 

Invincible,  100. 


IriM,  74,  158.  105. 

IhIh,  27  /(. 

.lack,  120;(.      " 

Kent,  28  „. 

lionilon,  00 II. 

Loyalist,  lO)!, 

Ludlow  Castle,  28  h. 

Magniticent,  1 10. 

Marlborougii,  100. 

Monarch,  110. 

Montagu,  T.iii.,  110,  115,  2()it. 

NaiMiir,  28//,  lllO. 

Nonsuch,  100. 

I'lyiiu)uth,  28//. 

rrinco  (ieoige,  28//.,  100. 

Prince  William,  110. 

Princess,  81,  7:i//.,  100. 

I'rothee,  100, 

Prudent,  110. 

Uepulse,  110. 

Uesolution,  100 

Uichmond,  74,  158,  105, 

Robust,  110. 

Uose,  10.  45//. 

Uoyal  Oak,  110, 115, 122  ».,  20il. 

Uoyal  Sovereign,  tiO/i. 

Ihiby,  Hi! /I. 

Russell,  45//.,  100,  123,  142. 

Saiulwich,  178. 

Sheeruess,  28//.,  00//. 

Shrewsbury,  45/1.,  7i{ /I. ,  110. 

St.  Albans,  110. 

Terrible,    00;  burnt,   71,   73//., 

150,  105. 
Thetis  lost,  48. 
Torbay,  45//,  100,  142//. 
Triton,  04//. 
Valiant,  110. 
Warrior,  100. 
Yarmouth,  100. 
(French) : 
Actionnairo,  55,  01. 
Adour,  128//. 
Aigette,   20,   10;!;  takes  a  brig, 

40;  goes  to  Havana,  03,  152; 

brings  in  prizes,  07,  105,  154  ; 

engages  the  Iris,  75,  158. 
Aimable,  taken,  127,  202. 
Alerle,  140. 
Amazonc,  128//, 
Aiulronuu|iie,  104. 
Annibal,  32. 
Ardent.    84,  07,  113,   123,   107, 

200. 
Arcthusa,  101. 


214 


INDKX. 


f       • 


I 


ArloRion,  20,  H2. 

Amrec,  1(V),  li!«n. 

Aiiroro,  2(J. 

Astrolabe,  12(i. 

Aunimie,  l!«,  45 n.,  113,  11(1, 1U8, 
174,  l!t4. 

nollo  I'oulo,  15,  43. 

Ilollono,  44  n. 

Uourgogno,  2(1,  01,  00,  111. 

llouMgulo,  120. 

llrave,  102.  11.1,  127,  170. 

Cato,  4!1.  (10.  70,  05,  111,  115, 
127,  1(10,  104,  100,  202. 

Cores,  lakon,  127,  202. 

Cosar.  2(1,  43,  51,  112,  104; 
takon,  122,  200;  burnt,  124, 
201. 

ClmrloKo,  187. 

CKoyen.  2(1,  112,  101. 

(loncorile,  (17  ;  brinRadispatchea 
from  United  States,  148;  re- 
turns, 152. 

C..n«iucrnnt,  84,  88,  94,  111,  128. 

Constunte,  148. 

Cormornnt,  187. 

Cornwallis,  01,  100,  102. 

Couronno,  112,  123,  127,  173. 

Uauphin  Uoyal.  32  n.,  112,  120. 

DedaiKncusc,  2(1. 

Hostiu,  55,04,00,112,  125,128, 
104. 

Diaileme,  0,  2(1,  00,  71,  72,  7'. 
77,05,  111,  125,120,103,104 

Diligcnto.  2(1,  158,  103. 

Due  do  Uourgogne,  84,  05,  100, 
127. 

Gngngcantc,  1(1,  128  n. 

Kveille.  84,  112. 

Experiment,  47,  49,  114,  120, 
101. 

Fnntasi|uc,  32  n. 

Fee,  (31,  147. 

Fondant,  lUl  n. 

Ficr,  20,  54. 

(Uorieux,  2(1,  40,  50,  07,  75,  05, 
00,  08,  112,  100,  101;  dis- 
masted and  taken,  121,  122; 
founders,  120  n. 

flucrrier.  44  n. 

Hector,  20,  27,  51,  54,  50,  01, 
80,  80,  112,  107;  taken,  123, 
2(H) ;   lost,  1 20  n. 

Ilerculo,  2i!,  113,  128,  191. 

Heriiiiono,  27. 

Heron,  32. 


Inoonstanto,  deslrnyod,  00,  148. 

IndiHorote,  2(1. 

Inlrupide,  50,  101  n. ;  dcstroyod, 

50,  148. 
Jason,  84,  112,110;  token,  127, 

202. 
Languodoo,  9,  20,  42,  97,  112, 

123.  120,  104. 
Lion  Ui'ittaniquo,  05;  tost,  90. 
Magnaninie,  0,  20,  112,  125, 120, 

104. 
Mrtgnifique,  111,  127. 
Marseillttis,  20,  00, 101, 120, 135, 

108. 
Medee,  2(1,  51. 
Minautnro,  20. 
Monarque,  3:?  n. 
Mouche,  2(!. 

Neptune,  84    SO,  07,  113. 
NorlhuiiibcrIi)nd,    2C,    41,    03, 

101  n..  Hi,  :I4. 
Nourrico,  20. 
Orpliec,  32  fi. 

I'almier,  55,  li3,  114,  104. 
I'andour,  38,  41. 
I'luton,   20,  47,  40,  100;  in  ac- 
tion with  Graves,  00,  111,  104. 
Provence,  84,  80. 
Rcflecbi,  43,  00,  70,  111,  115, 128, 

103,  104. 
Resolu,  102. 

Kiclioniont,  00,  102,  122. 
llobuHte,  20. 
Uomulu8,  17,  84. 
Hose,  10. 
Uossignole,  27. 
Sagiliaire,  20.  31,  114,  120. 
Sensible,  20. 
Sandwich.  187. 
Sceptre.  20,  47,  05,  98, 112, 128, 

133,  104. 
Scipion,  20,  113,  104. 
Serapis,  100. 
Solitaire,  43,  04,  104. 
Souvorain,  20,  43,  09,  11.3, 142, 

104. 
Sphynx.  20,  32. 
Surveillanic,  104. 
St.  Kxprit,  20,  47, 40, 50,  72, 113, 

128,  101. 
St.  Malo,  28  n. 
Trident,  32  n. 
Trioniphant,   101  «.,   102,    100, 

111,  120,  12.5,  133  n.,  170,  173. 
Triton,  50,  70  n.,  80,  164,  103 


INDEX. 


210 


Union,  20,  M. 

ViiiUunt,  2tl,  8(1,  16-1,  IVO. 

Vcngcur,  ill!. 

Victniro,  4it,  80,  194. 

Ville  do   I'ariH,  L!fl,  HI,   n»;  nt 

(iros  Islet,  48  ;  Hlrikos  iv  mek, 

147;  ill  badlo  orClicsnponkc, 

(i'J,  71,  l'.>4;  WnHliiriK'un,  on, 

70,  ir>8,  10;J;   in  actluii  off  .St, 

Clii'istoplior'H,   •,)8,   lOH,   ll'j; 

taken,    I'Sii,    177 ;    I'oundorH, 

120n. 
Zele,  20,  .1.1  n.,  88,  0."),  IIM,  110, 

lilt,  174  «.,  17'),  170,  lit  J,  llM.t. 
(Spftnisli): 
Plienix,  '-'.I  II. 
Shirlpy.  Sir  Tlionmn,  90. 
Sullies  Troubles   ilc  V AmcriijHc  Ah- 

ylai»e,  85  n. 
Solano,  8cnor,  129. 
Spnnisli  Town,  178. 
Sparks'  I.il'o  and  Writ  ings  of  Wnsli- 

ington,  iJ4  «.,  77  ii. 
Splcciim,  Hcnrietia,  29;/. 
St.  IJartboloinew  reduced  hy  d'Es- 

taing,  10. 
St.  Cesar,  <:,ipt.  do,  11:1. 
St.    Christophers     taken    liy    do 

Orasse,    95,  90-lO.t,  100.17:t; 

described,   104;  actions  near, 

100, 08  n. ;  prizes  (akeual,  171. 
St.  Domingo,  55,89,  178,   144/1.; 

Account   of,    58 ;   Vessels  ut, 

i:!8,  147,  148,  V\ 
St.  Kiistaiia,    seized   by  Rodney, 

29  n.,     45;     retaken    by    de 

Uouille,  91,  105;    garrisoned, 

94,  95,  10;5. 
St.  Ooar,  :!0h. 
St 
St 


John,  Knights  of,  !i2n. 


ilohn  of  Ood,  Hospitallers  of, 
57. 

St.  Lucia,  d'Estaing  repulsed  at, 
10,  183;  veducfd  by  Itoiliiey, 
29  H.;  Hood,  tries  to  outer,  45  ; 
do  (Irassc  at,  41,  42,  40,  47, 
144,  145.  191  ;  Maneheuillier, 
Mi;  English  licet  at,  100;  tlag 
of  Iruco  from,  107. 

St.  Lucia  Channel,  94,  95,  140, 
100. 

St.  Malo,  44  H. 

St.  Martin,  reduced  by  d'Kslaing, 
10;  taken  by  de  IJouille,  9:1. 


St.  rirrrc,  40;  enlcrtalntncnt  given 
by  merchants  of,  108,  202. 

HI.  Simon,  iMari|uis  do,  commands 
Iroops  landed  by  do  Urasac, 
00,  154,  187,  188,  19:i. 

.St.  Vincent  rcdiu^cd  by  d'KstaIng, 
10,  178,  I8;!;by  Ilodnoy,  29«.; 
do  (Iriisso  at,  52,  187,  190,  202. 

Huffren,  I'ierro  Andre  Uailly  du, 
!I!1h,;  skeleli  of,  U2«. ;  in  d' 
Kstaing'sticot,  ii2;i.;  sent  from 
lloslon  to  Newport,  ib. ;  block- 
nilcs  Savannali,  M:i  n. ;  sails  for 
I'iasl,  il2  II.  ;  llunbeo  serves 
under.  02. 

Sullivan,  (len.,  in  Ithodo  Island, 
10. 

Kulhcrlaud.  Capl.,  110. 

Symonds,  Tlios.,  9!i. 

Ternny,  do,  commands  squadron, 
17,  I  l.'i ;  dies  of  murlitication, 
18. 

Tlionipson,  Capt.  C.,  110. 

'rhom|)son,  Capt.  S.,  110. 

Thomson,  ('has.,  102. 

Tilly,  M.  de,  captures  tlio  Romu- 
lus, 17;  in  the  Eveille,  84, 
II '2. 

Tobago  blockaded  by  do  Rions,  47  ; 
du  (Irasse  at,  48,  190;  surren- 
ders to  du  liouillc,  49,  190; 
description  of,  50. 

Toulon,  15,  45h.,5I  it.,  182. 

Toiirvillo,  M.  do.  Oil. 

Travcrsay,  M.  do,  151. 

Trini|uemale,  It:)  ii. 

Truscott,  Cap!.,  109. 

Turpin,  Capt.,  20. 

Ilrvillc,  iSr.  do,  129  ;i. 
UshanI,  15. 

Vanikoro,  129  n. 
Vauilreuil,  Count  dc,  1 II. 
Vaudreuil,  Lieut.  Oov.  of  Canada, 

44  n. 
Vaudreuil.    Miinpiis   de,    20,  101, 

112,  170;  gallant  conduct  of, 

114-5,  122, 
Vuudrnuil,  Marquis  de.  Governor 

of  Canada,  101  n. 
Vilage,  Capt.  dc,  112. 
Villebrune,  84, 


210 


INDEX. 


C 


Viomcsnil,  Ilnron  de,  106.  . 

VlrRlnla,  148. 

Virgin  IgUndi,  Mi.  ' 

Voyage  d'un  Suiiie,  10;  Extract 
from,  1U7. 

W»llnoe,  C»pf.  Sir  Jiiinen,  100. 

Walton  upon  TliameN,  'JH  n. 

Ward.  Commondcr  J.  U.,  70,  90, 
121. 

Waroquior,  de,  J!(at  Gfnfral  de  la 
Frarifl,  48  n.,  U'J  n. 

Waihiuglon,  Qcorifo,  07  n.,  7r>n., 
70,  153,  1.54;  viiita  the  Villo 
de  rarin,  70,  168,  10.3,  1H6; 
force!*  Curnwalliit  to  capitu- 
late, 84  ;  correRpondenoe  willi 


de   Oraasn,  187;   romurki  on 

death  of  de  Uraiie,  T2;  diary 

quoted,  70  n. 
Watcriipouti,  54,  DO. 
Wayne,  Oenernl,  00  n.,  15il. 
Wcthersfiold,  08  n, 
Wilkini,  (.'apt.,  110. 
William  IV,  in  KnKlinh  floct  when 

Prince  William,  85. 
Willlamri,  l^itpi.,  lOU. 
WillinrnHhurg,  l'.).'),  K)5. 
Windward  IsIcr,  ilH,  1U4,  120,  104. 
Wolfcnbultcl,  31  n. 

York  riTer,  73. 

Yorkiown,,  08  n.,  70,  82,  163, 101, 
100. 


ii 


